Entrepreneurs given helping hand
Hundreds of young community entrepreneurs in Indonesia will benefit from a British Council project, boosted by a quarter of a million pound grant from the Arthur Guinness Fund.
The project will build on the British Council’s record of supporting social entrepreneurs – individuals who generate income from activities which also solve social problems within their communities – in the UK and around the world.
In a country where there are 20 million unemployed between the age of 15 and 34, work like this can bring about real change.
Among the many entrepreneurs the British Council has already worked with in Indonesia is Mita Sirait. She has helped create work for 300 households by showing communities how waste can be collected, cleaned and recycled into new goods, such as handbags, that can then be sold on.
‘As one of the world’s leaders in social entrepreneurship, the UK is in a good position to provide expertise.'
Ibu Sum, a beneficiary of Mita’s project, said: ‘Now I can buy school clothes for my children and save some money for their education later on.’
One of the aspects of the British Council’s programme is to give established entrepreneurs the skills to train and encourage new entrepreneurs.
‘The UK is in a good position to provide such expertise, as it is one of the world’s leaders in social entrepreneurship,’ explained Keith Davies, Director of the British Council in Indonesia.
Entrepeneur and designer Oscar Lawalata has benefited from previous support from the British Council. He now plans to partner with a top UK textile designer to develop new products made by traditional weavers in Indonesia. The textile designs will then be turned into a new collection to be showcased in the UK in 2010.
