To Learn More on the Sociopreneurship, IPB Students Invited the Secretary Director of Grameen Bank for Discussion
Students of Bogor Agricultural University Faculty (IPB) who are Scholarship awardee of Nusantara Dompet Dhuafa were given special opportunity to meet world management expert, Mr.Sayyed Fahad Ahmad PhD, the Secretary Director of Yunus Social Business Center (YSBC) from New Zealand, on Tuesday, on 29 January 2018, in the coffee shop "Kopitalis", in IPB Campus, Dramaga, Bogor. Yunus Social Business Centres were established by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. He is the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, which helps alleviate poverty, through microfinancing, and lending to the country’s poor without the need for collateral. Lincoln University-Yunus Social Business Center (LU-YSBC) is the first Yunus Social Business Centre in New Zealand, and one of a number that have been established at universities around the world, including La Trobe University in Australia, Becker College in the USA, and Glasgow Caledonian University and King’s College London in the UK.
"My activity in a sociopreneur institution such as the Yunus Social Business Centre are to build awareness of social business, and undertake training and education, provide mentoring, and support research on social business. a form of my concern for the problems of lower class society in various countries. A social business is set up to solve a specific problem to the benefit of poor or disadvantaged members of society. Unlike a charity, they generate profit and aim to be financially self-sustaining. When I graduated from USA I was surprised to see agricultural problems in my region, Bangladesh," Mr. Sayyed, who had completed his undergraduate business education at Bridgeport University, USA.
The problems facing many countries, Mr. added. Sayyed, can be solved simpler when we (the government and society) can draw the red thread and focus on the core issues. Bangladesh for example, its agricultural problems basically only focus on soil management, low quality of fertilizer, the bad middlemen and poor public services quality.
"We just need to focus. Facility is not everything when we do have the determination and the will. Do not wait for creative ideas to strike you. Rather focus on trying to solve a clearly stated, at least in your minds, problem. Identify the targets and goals to be achieved, arrange solutions and make the stage plan as concrete as possible. The best way to clarify the problem and understand the underlying issues is to ask yourself – or better still, ask a friend or family member to ask you – a series of questions about your problem in order to clarify the true issues behind the problem. "he said while sipping his black coffee.
Mr.Sayyed who is currently a lecturer at Lincoln University, New Zealand stressed on the importance of building the capacity of entrepreneurship from an early age for IPB students about. By having such strength foundation, the university students won’t take the wrong trend when they are going to get their job opportunities, they don’t go to a narrow scope.
"Be an entrepreneur, create the jobs, we will be able to empower more human resources and gain wider access and greater opportunities to develop local communities. Indonesia is a very rich country, "he said seriously
He added that social entrepreneur business should hold the principle of profit gained not to be wholly owned by individuals, but used as asset capital to continue to develop ideas and improvements to the conditions around. Social entrepreneurship is the use of the by start up companies and other entrepreneurs to develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a variety of organizations with different sizes, aims, and beliefs.
"Students must be able to create brilliant ideas, attract mass support to join good ideas together and connect to yield the final element. All over the world, there have been protests against companies that use technology to disrupt traditional transportation. For example, Ojek online also had become a contradiction in Indonesia, but because of the support of the masses who feel the benefits it will continue to grow until now. Such ideas that students need to create. Students must be innovative and creative, " said Mr.Sayyed
Discussion between the students and Mr. Sayyed went on smoothly though it was in English. Present also in the discussion that the manager of Bakti Nusa, Regional Bogor, who is also a lecturer of Agribusiness, Ach.Firman Wahyudi, SE, M. Si, and some coffee entrepreneurs around Bogor who wanted to have consultions with Mr. Sayyed Ahmed directly. (Wied)
