Pertamina Supports Fostered Partners To Export To Various Countries
February 21, 2022 – Java Candle Art is one of the Micro Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the handicraft sector, which has become part of the PT Pertamina Patra Niaga Fostered Partners for the West Java Region. The man whose full name is Bagus Randiawan Saputra, born in Semarang, April 18, 1986, has started the Java Candle Art business in 2016.
Starting from the candle family business for power outage lighting that his father built in 2008, Bagus continued the business until he realized that over time, the need level for power outage candles decreased and the selling prices did not match the increase in production costs. Bagus finally made a big breakthrough in his business but still in the candle craft and formed "Java Candle Art" which creates candles into several products with various functions.
"I created candles to be decorative candles, souvenir candles, birthday candles, worship candles, aromatherapy candles, merchandise candles, and candle entrepreneurship guidance, which turned out to be more segmented, such as for hotels, salons, spa places, places of worship, online markets, modern stores, distributors, and so on,” said Bagus.
Not only innovating to compete in the market, but Java Candle Art also has achievements. It includes 1st Place in UMKM AWARDS 2018 in the Craft category, from the Bandung City Trade and Industry Office (Disdagin) and the Bandung City Office of Women's Empowerment, Child Protection, and Community Empowerment (DP3APM). Moreover, Java Candle Art has now penetrated export markets such as Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and France.
The products produced have attracted a lot of attention from consumers. The prices of the products sold vary, ranging from IDR 1,000/pcs to IDR 250,000/Pcs.
At the beginning of 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, including Indonesia. This has caused entrepreneurs in almost all business lines to experience a decline, including Bagus' business, which experienced a decline in turnover of up to 80%. Before the pandemic, he could earn a turnover of up to 50-100 million/month, and during the pandemic, it decreased to 5-20 million/month.
Eko Kristiawan, Area Manager Communication, Relations & CSR of Pertamina Patra Niaga West Java Region explained “Pandemic is not an easy thing for all business lines to overcome. To survive during the pandemic, all entrepreneurs must remain productive and continue to innovate. Pertamina continues to try to educate its fostered partners to see market needs and switch to online sales," said Eko
Bagus explained, as a business owner registered with PT Pertamina Patra Niaga's West Java Regional Development Partner program, his business was able to continue to innovate and expand amid the pandemic, "I am proud to be a foster partner of Pertamina. Apart from being supported by BUMN, which is an extension of the government, the impact on my business is very large. It includes innovations to add product variants, production assets, production locations and I have also been helped by access to capital and product development," added Bagus.
For this reason, the presence of Pertamina Fostered Partners is a solution for MSEs to continue to grow and develop, which makes this a real step to increase business to keep the wheels of the country's economy turning and make MSEs more productive, efficient, and profitable.
"Through this program, we continue to provide the best for our Fostered Partners with mentoring, coaching, targeted training, and we also provide promotional facilities and market development in exhibitions so that they continue to grow and develop. So that the Fostered Partners also have the opportunity to continue to exist in the local and international markets,” said Eko.
This program also aims to implement point 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely decent work and economic growth. In addition to the SDGs, Pertamina also seeks to implement Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) in the social sector. This way, Pertamina is confident to generate economic benefits for the community in line with its environmental and social responsibilities.
The requirements to join as Pertamina Fostered Partners can be seen on the following link page https://www.pertamina.com/id/program-kemitraan. **