A student team from the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), secured Second Place in the 2024 National Business Plan Competition organized by the Sharia Business Management Study Program Student Association, UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta, on 7 October 2024. In the final round, Laurensius Erlangga Putra Aksami, Aisyah Huril ‘Ain Saajida, and Kenan Safara Nugroho competed against six other teams to present their business ideas.
The competition process involved several stages, beginning with the submission and selection of business plan proposals that were required to present innovative and relevant ideas. Teams that passed the proposal stage advanced to the final round, which consisted of pitching sessions before a panel of judges. Throughout these stages, the FEB UNS team, led by Erlangga, gained substantial experience in developing and presenting a well-structured business plan.
Speaking to feb.uns.ac.id, Erlangga stated that the team’s motivation for participating is to explore new opportunities, develop personal potential, and assess their capabilities through competition. The team also aims to step beyond their comfort zone and gain meaningful experience that would broaden their academic and practical perspectives.
“As a team competing in a business plan competition, we began our preparation by identifying existing issues, particularly in Surakarta. One key issue we identified was the limited access of many traditional artisans to broader markets. Based on this analysis, we designed a business idea that addresses this challenge while meeting the competition requirements,” he explained.
According to Erlangga, the final round was the most memorable experience. Engaging with strong competitors and exchanging knowledge provided valuable insights, while feedback from the judges offered new perspectives to support the team’s continued development.
He also emphasized the intensity of the preparation process, which involved research, proposal development, and pitching before the judges. Despite the demanding process, the experience was considered highly rewarding due to the learning outcomes, networking opportunities, and constructive feedback received.
Erlangga encouraged fellow FEB students to actively participate in various competitions. Through such experiences, students can strengthen critical thinking skills, gain new insights, and expand knowledge beyond the classroom.
Further, the two speakers explained that TikTok is a powerful platform because of its three essential elements: community, entertainment, and commerce. Community serves as the strong foundation of TikTok. The platform encourages interaction through comments, likes, and sharing videos, creating an active social ecosystem where users can collaborate, exchange ideas, and connect globally.
While Entertainment remains the most visible element on TikTok, with the platform centered around providing engaging and easily consumable short-form video content, commerce is becoming an increasingly significant component. TikTok now functions not only as an entertainment and social platform but also as a marketing and sales channel for brands and content creators. During the session, the speakers invited participants to share their experiences in content creation on TikTok. They also shared practical strategies on how to use the platform for business development.
The competition, which took place on October 27, 2024, with winners announced on November 2, 2024, aimed to encourage young generations—particularly Gen Z—to be more aware and proactive regarding public issues. Under the theme “Proactive Participation of Gen Z in Public Policy Formation,” participants were challenged to express their ideas, critiques, and constructive arguments in essay form. This theme is highly relevant as it encourages students, as part of Gen Z, to take an active role in public policy discussions that are often perceived as distant from daily life.
In his opening remarks, Tastaftiyan expressed appreciation and welcomed the teachers and students of SMA Kristen 7 Penabur to FEB UNS. “Thank you for visiting. We are very open to sharing knowledge and working in collaboration. FEB UNS is committed to be inclusive university, as universities today are encouraged not to be exclusive but to engage more broadly with external parties. One of the strategies available to achieve this objective is through community service programs, university teaching programs conducted at schools, as well as research or other academic activities that may take place either in schools or on other campuses. God willing, this collaboration and your visit will also be beneficial for us,” he stated.
He further highlighted that during this visit, representatives from each study program present would share information about their respective academic programs at FEB UNS.
The agreement, thus, outlines collaborative efforts in the fields of education, research, and community service, as well as the implementation of MBKM. In education sector the agreement will cover several activities such as Joint curriculum development, faculty and student exchanges, seminars, training sessions, and faculty capacity building. Other than the education, research activities covered such as collaborative studies, joint academic publications, and hosting scientific conferences that involve researchers from both institutions. Meanwhile in community service sector the collaboration will facilitate initiatives such as community empowerment programs and technology-based social projects.
Aldy Fariz Achsanta, S.E., M.Rech., Ph.D., Head of the Digital Business Undergraduate Program at FEB UNS, provided an overview of the faculty. He highlighted the four undergraduate programs offered in FEB UNS, namely, Management Study Program, Development Economics, Accounting, and Digital Business. Detailed explanations of each program were delivered by the respective program heads in attendance.
In addition to an introduction to the Digital Business program by Aldy Fariz Achsanta, PhD., students also gained comprehensive information about the Management program from Dr. Sinto Sunaryo, S.E., M.Si., SHRM.CP., and the Economics and Development Studies program, presented by Muhammad Yusuf Indra Purnama, S.E., M.Rech., Ph.D.
The three explained in detail on how to cook three Libyan cuisines namely the Mahlabia, Brack, Almubatana, and Rashtah Musqia.
In front of students, Lasarus explained several theories used by Adhi Karya in running the company’s business in order to grow and develop.
Prof. Wimboh Santosa, Professor of FEB UNS who previously served as Chairman of the OJK Board of Commissioners for the period 2017-2022 in his remarks said this occasion was an effort to provide encouragement for MSMEs to enter the capital market.
Furthermore, in the economic system in Indonesia, MSMEs play an important role in life, especially as a source of income in the community. We continue to increase thousands and even millions of MSMEs, to make MSMEs more empowered, one of which we do is provide funding for MSMEs. “The financing provided seems to be the only rational choice for MSMEs so that their business can maintain its operations, besides providing an understanding of information technology and innovations from MSMEs themselves,” he explained later.
“Welcome to UNS, Prof. Moro and Mr. Krishna. We at UNS always strive to establish networks with the industrial world, for this reason, today we will learn from the invited speakers about MSME funding. I hope we will be able to receive a lot of knowledge from today’s seminar,” explained Dr. Tastaftiyan.
