PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk : Mandiri Encourages Indonesian Migrant Workers to Take Up Entrepreneurship

03/06/2013| 09:56pm US/Eastern

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Hong Kong, March 3, 2013 - Bank Mandiri continues to deliver its "Mandiri Sahabatku" (Mandiri My Friend) program so as to teach entrepreneurship to Indonesian migrant workers. The program, which is held in collaboration with the Ciputra University Entrepreneurship Center (UCEC), has to date provided training to 2,918 Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Bank Mandiri CEO Zulkifli Zaini said that the program was intended to encourage Indonesian migrant workers to take up entrepreneurship, and to provide them with the necessary skills so as to ensure better prospects for them upon return to Indonesia.

"This is part of an effort on our part as a state-owned company to help migrant workers to survive independently upon their return to Indonesia," explained Zulkifli.

In Hong Kong, the Mandiri Sahabatku program has been conducted since 2011. The interest among migrant workers is high, as can be seen from the fact that the number of participants has increased from year to year. When the training was first provided, it was participated in by 875 migrants in Hong Kong. Today, that figure has jumped to 1,052.

The entrepreneurship training program is divided into 3 stages: pre-placement, placement and post-placement. The pre-placement stage provides an introduction to prospective workers who wish to work abroad. During the placement stage, when the migrants are already in the destination country, they are trained to analyze business opportunities and create business plans, and provided with motivational messages and entrepreneurial inspiration.

During the post-placement stage, the participating migrant workers receive assistance from Bank Mandiri to help them start their own businesses.

Participation in the Mandiri Sahabatku program, continued Zulkifli Zaini, is entirely free of charge. "The program's vision is to mold new entrepreneurs from among Indonesian migrant workers so that they can later become 'employers' in their own country," he said.

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