Universitas Pembangunan Jaya Encourages Sustainable Development Through Empowerment of Home Industry - Micro Business in South Tangerang

Bintaro, South Tangerang, 14/12/2024 - Collaboration of Departments of Visual Communication Design, Product Design, Accounting, and Management, Universitas Pembangunan Jaya (UPJ) successfully implemented a program entitled Urban Community Empowerment through Strengthening IRT-UM to Support Sustainable Development in South Tangerang. This program is part of the Kedaireka grant for the Home Industry and Micro Business Development Program (IRT-UM) which is designed to increase the capacity of micro-businesses through comprehensive training and mentoring. This activity took place from October 28 to December 11, 2024.  

The program collaborates with three local partners engaged in various creative business fields, namely Agnez Rajut which focuses on knitting handicraft products, Bintaro Fingerboard which develops fingerboard toys as innovative products, and Lumina Laser which offers various craft and decoration products based on laser cutting technology. This collaboration with local partners aims to encourage the growth of the creative industry while opening up opportunities for economic empowerment for small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).  

The implementation of this program involves a team of lecturers from various Study Programs at UPJ, namely Visual Communication Design, Product Design, Accounting, and Management. In addition, UPJ also collaborates with Sevenpreneur industry partners to ensure that the training provided is relevant to current market needs. This activity includes a series of training and mentoring where participants get comprehensive material starting from business planning and development training to strengthen the entrepreneurial mindset, participants are then trained in product production to improve business quality and innovation. Furthermore, materials on financial management and accounting were given to ensure efficient business management, followed by digital marketing as a technology-based marketing strategy, and ended with graphic design to help branding and production of more attractive and professional promotional content.  

In his remarks, Visual Communication Design Lecturer and head of the IRT - UM UPJ program Desi Dwi Kristanto, M.Ds. stated, “We believe that through strengthening micro businesses, not only product competitiveness increases but also wider social and economic impacts can be felt by the surrounding community,” he said.   

As the culmination of the activity, the three IRT-UM partners showcased the results of the training through product exhibitions and business presentations held at Teras Jambu, located in Bintaro Jaya, South Tangerang. This activity is a place to showcase innovation as well as share their strategic plans for future business development. In this session, all business programs of these MSME players were assessed and received input from UPJ Management Study Program lecturers as well as UPJ MSME activists, namely Teguh Prasetio, SE., M.Si. a lecturer who is also the Head of UPJ's Cooperation, Public Relations and Internationalization (KHI) Section, and Mohamad Trio Febriyantoro, S.E., M.M., Ph.D., Bureau Head of UPJ's Jaya Center for Advanced Learning (JCAL).  

“Through this exhibition, we can see the extent to which our partners implement the knowledge provided. This is a momentum for them to present their future business vision,” said Teguh Prasetyo.   

One of the participants, Sudjarjanti, head of Agnez Rajut, said, “We are now more confident in marketing our products online thanks to the digital marketing training we received.” These testimonials are tangible evidence of the program's impact on the capacity building of micro-businesses in South Tangerang.   

This program is part of Pembangunan Jaya University's commitment to continue supporting the empowerment of urban communities and promoting sustainable development through strategic and innovative collaborations.