Increasing the number of MSMEs in Salakadomas Village, IPB University Students Give Training on Local Commodity Processing
Sweet potato is one of the commodities with abundant yields in Salakadomas Village, Mandirancan District, Kuningan Regency, West Java. Seeing this potential, the IPB University Innovation Real-Thematic Work Lecture (KKNT) team innovated to make processed donuts with sweet potato as the basic ingredient.
The donut product is named Donat Hubby. This product was initiated by considering the market opportunity for typical Kuningan souvenirs which is still wide open. The reason is that currently, Kuningan souvenirs are still dominated by various traditional chips.
As an implementation of this initiative, KKNT Inovasi students held a training event on local commodity processing and marketing for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Salakadomas Village. The activity was filled by representatives of KKNT Inovasi IPB University students, namely Shinta Ayu Pangesti from the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science (FPIK) and Ayu Rahmawati from the School of Business (SB).
Ayu Rahmawati said, this activity aims to increase the number of micro businesses by empowering local potential that has not been maximally utilised. According to her, this activity is very important to develop local potential and improve the economy of rural communities.
“The most common mistake made by MSMEs is that they are unable to separate personal finances from business finances. If they need money to pay instalments, they immediately take business money. On the other hand, if there is a broken business operational tool, it will dig into the wallet,” Ayu said.
She added that unmanaged finances make it difficult for MSME players to predict the success of product sales and strategies that have been prepared.
“Donat Hubby takes a new positioning as a soft souvenir that is favoured by all ages, especially children to young adults with its unique adorable logo design,” she explained.
The mission to help start a business from scratch is supported by providing education on pricing and marketing techniques with copywriting. Ayu said Donat Hubby and other products will not be able to compete with other products if they are not sold with copywriting techniques.
“Copywriting is the art of seducing potential buyers with words,” explained Ayu, who adapted her words from Dewa Eka Prayoga’s Key to Successful Copywriting. The copywriting techniques presented included AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), PAS (Problem, Agitate, Solution), and BAB (Before, After, Bridge) techniques.
This activity received good appreciation from the residents who participated in this training. Ayu said she and other KKNT Inovasi students were happy to be able to contribute to local economic development.
“We hope that the knowledge shared can be applied directly and sustainably for the people of Salakadomas Village. Hopefully this can be a positive first step in increasing the number of micro businesses in the village,” she hoped. (*/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)
