Bank Mandiri Continues to Promote Entrepreneurial Spirit
03/06/15
Jakarta, 6 March 2015 - Bank Mandiri is committed to continuing to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among Indonesia's young people. To that end, the Bank will once again simultaneously stage its Entrepreneurship Expo to coincide with the 2014 Mandiri Young Entrepreneur (WMM), Mandiri Young Technopreneur (MYT) and Mandiri Social Entrepreneur (WSM) awards. The expo, which will take place on 12-15 March 2015 at the Jakarta Convention Center, will feature the work of some 250 young entrepreneurs who are receiving assistance from the Bank.

Bank Mandiri Director of Finance & Strategy Pahala N. Mansury said that the entrepreneurship expo was one of the company's efforts to spread the "virus of entrepreneurship" and "fever of innovation" among students.

"With so many young people being attracted to entrepreneurship, we have saved them from unemployment and helped the government improve the welfare of the community," said Pahala.

The expo, he said, is expected to attract around 50,000 visitors, including students and young people from Jakarta and its surrounds. It is expected that they will have the opportunity to communicate with and receive tips from the expo participants about how to exploit and take advantage of new business opportunities.

In addition to talking to the expo participants, visitors will be able to attend interactive talk shows with Hadi Wenas (CEO of e-Commerce Indonesia), Rian Gondokusumo (founder of Sribu.com), Aldi Haryo Pratomo (founder & CEO of Ruma Indonesia), Daniel Mananta (Damn I Love Indonesia) and Marcelino Lefrant (Komikus Bolt), as well as other successful young entrepreneurs.

In the case of students participating in the workshops, in addition to watching the awards presentation ceremony, they will also be able to exchange ideas directly with entrepreneurs like Bill Reichert of Garage Ventures, Christian Sugiono (malesbanget.com), Fajrin Rashid (bukalapak.com), Mira Lesmana (Miles Studio) and Dian Sastrowardoyo .

Pahala said that the 2014 WMM, MYT and WSM had proven very popular among potential participants, as evidenced by the fact that the total number of participants in all three competitions in 2014 amounted to 3,979. Of these, 55 participants managed to make the finals, of which 27 were in the student category and 28 in the alumni and graduate category.

In the MYT event, a total of 763 teams took part in the competition, with 10 being selected as finalists. Meanwhile, the WSM competition drew a total of 498 teams, with 10 being selected to participate in the final judging process.

In the WMM competition, the participants competed in three categories: Industry, Trade & Services, and Catering & Creative. In the MYT competition, there were two categories -- Digital Technology and Non-Digital Technology. Finally, the WSM competition featured two categories -- Creative Industries and Tourism and Agriculture & Marine.

"The WMM, MYT and WSM programs are not only a source of pride to the Bank, but also for the people of Indonesia who have a younger generation that is able to contribute to the community at large. We are optimistic about the growing number of young people are becoming job creators and, through economic growth, will help Indonesian achieve a much better future," said Pahala.
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