Through the Papua Special Autonomy Fund (Otsus), the Cooperatives and MSMEs Service in Jayapura has received a budget allocation of Rp3 billion for local cooperatives and MSMEs.
Before they get business assistance from the government, young creative economy business actors in Jayapura district receive information from the service team.
The information dissemination is aimed at helping them gain insights and practical knowledge regarding managing their businesses in the future.
“For the MSME sector, we will facilitate and provide them with assistance in the form of equipment according to the needs of their businesses,” secretary of the Jayapura District Cooperative and MSMEs Service, Lenora Bemey, said.
The socialization and coaching by the local government cover wood crafting, managing tourist objects, and becoming culinary specialists. This is expected to open jobs for the youth in the area.
To support the local government's efforts, young creative economy entrepreneurs in Jayapura District need to continue to consistently run their businesses as a form of support to improve their family’s economy.
The Jayapura district government is carrying out an empowerment program for the younger generation so that they can explore their creativity and help the local government reduce poverty and unemployment.
Youth creative economy
One of the participants of the program, Serra Esterlin Ohee, is the owner of a wood crafting studio. He started his business in January 2020 with his younger sister.
“Initially, there were only two people and now we are able to have six workers, including me,” he said.
The Cooperatives and MSMEs Service also provided Ohee wood-skin sewing machine assistance. He said that the sewing machine assistance helped him to maximize production results and time efficiency in production.
Papua Youth Creative Hub
Besides providing coaching, the government has also built the Papua Youth Creative Hub (PYCH) as a mentoring group for young people. A youth from Nolokla Village in East Sentani Sub-district, Astus Puraro, feels very motivated by the group.
PYCH has given new hope to the younger generation. Under the guidance of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), young people are being empowered to run businesses in groups or independently.
Puraro said that his village has two business groups, namely a biofloc fish cage business and a sago agribusiness, each consisting of 20 people.
The youth group was trained to manage a fish cage business using biofloc technology. Through this effort, the local youth's time was filled with positive and constructive pursuits.
Meanwhile, the head of the fish cage business, Frans Pouw, said that this business is very promising and currently, they are developing tilapia aquaculture.
In the future, from the tilapia harvest, he intends to develop catfish cages for his members. He said that he and his members slowly studied the business model until they felt they were truly independent to run their business.
Local government support
By providing them with support, the local government is aiming to boost the youth’s ability for building, developing, and growing a business independently.
The local government has been very supportive of the creative, productive, and innovative activities of young people in Jayapura District.
"We must avoid activities that harm young people’s productivity. We are very supportive if they want to carry out useful activities,” the acting head of Jayapura District, Triwarno Purnomo, informed.
The government has high hopes that the youth will always partner with the government in fostering creativity and controlling development in the area.
The government is encouraging youth who have devised innovations to mobilize other youths and encourage them to be useful to others and participate in the development of Jayapura District.
The existence of the Papua Youth Creative Hub is expected to encourage and motivate young people to adapt and compete with technological developments.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has also said he hopes that the presence of the Papua Youth Creative Hub, which has been built in Abepura Sub-district, Jayapura City, Papua Province, would become a driving force as well as a center for talent development in Papua.
This hope was conveyed by the President in his remarks at the groundbreaking of the Papua Youth Creative Hub in Jayapura City in 2021.
The plan to build the Papua Youth Creative Hub was a follow-up to the President's meeting with a number of young Papuans at the State Palace on September 11, 2019.
The central government has observed that many young Papuans have great talent and are excelling in education, both domestically and abroad.
Young Papuan talents such as Billy Mambrasar, or others who are currently studying at leading universities, both domestically and abroad, are pursuing higher education, either through scholarships from the LPDP (Education Fund Management Institute) or scholarships from the Special Autonomy Fund.
The government allocated a budget of Rp98 billion for the construction of the Papua Youth Creative Hub. The center has been built as part of efforts to increase the welfare of the Papuan people.
Through these efforts, the government is hoping that Papua will become more advanced and prosperous, with help from the youth.
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Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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