Quoting from Papua Muda Inspiratif’s official website, the company began with some outstanding young people of West Papua. They gathered with the same objectives. They wanted to inspire and propel the acceleration of prosperity development in Papua. The prosperity development focused on people and is run by people.
Nowadays, the Indonesian government has put greater attention on Papua. As a region with a huge source of gold and income, Papua deserves some betterment. Thus, the government works hard to make Papua as prosperous as the other regions through development.
Papua Muda Inspiratif (PMI) was formed by 21 outstanding youths. They came from 7 customary areas. They excelled in various fields. Those are technology, science, arts, language and culture, entertainment, education, health, and many others.
While the collaboration is already overwhelming, wait for this other fact. After living in different countries, some people who used to belong to diaspora groups decided to come home. They, who used to live on five different continents, now join the company to make their homeland better.
Also read: Sons of Papua Go Global – West Papua Update
Living A Dream Together
The formation of the company began with Executive Director Neil Leonardo Aiwoy, a business visit to Merauke. Aiwoy invited the Regional Head of PMI of Ha Anim, Yosefin Iriani Kewamijai, to discuss the matter with Amadea Sampepadang. They discussed their plan to start PMI in the customary area Ha Anim. The area consisted of Merauke, Boven, Mappi, and Asmat.
When interviewed Kewamijai claimed that the lockdown hampered their progress. Although the discussion resulted in the decision to start PMI in Ha Anim, they had not progressed much.
They started to make progress after collaborated with Wira Bangsa. By that time, many young entrepreneurs were joining the team. The alumni of Wira Bangsa were millennial entrepreneurs. They provided a lot of help in carrying out their activities.
Kewamijai added that those young entrepreneurs learn a lot through guidance and help. She wished that it could encourage the young Papuan to be united, synergized, and worked together for prosperity in West Papua.
Papua Muda Inspiratif acts as a place for young people in Papua to gather. They can sit together and develop themselves based on their talent and potential. It was hoped that the activity could reduce the number of jobless men in Papua.
Thus, she wished that the regional government and stakeholders would give them support. She wanted that those young people who had not been able to join them could be trained in their place.
PMI had several main programs and six entrepreneurship programs. Some of them include culinary and hospitality, education and literature, science research and technology and entrepreneurship, health and beauty, creative and digital industries, and language, culture, and environment.
At that time, they ran one program only, which was entrepreneurship. The program covered some fields. Those were crafting, culinary, and beauty. She wished that the government would grant them an outlet to sell their products and manage them.
She wished, as a South Papua heroine and as a pioneer of Papuan women and youths, there would be no more jobless men in Merauke. She wished that the young people could be independent and help their homeland prosper. (Papua Muda Inspiratif, Rangkul Anak Muda Berpotensi | Pasific Pos.com)
Success Story
The Indonesian government did not miss this opportunity. They decided to help the youths. One of the presidential expert staff members, Gracia Billy Mambrasar was elected as the Managing Director of the company.
At the start, the company targeted 100 startup businesses to be created under PMI supervision. Mambrasar wished that the company could contribute to the acceleration of prosperity development in Papua. He further stated that there had been 265 young people who wanted to join the business training since it was initiated. (Profil Papua Muda Inspiratif, Perusahaan Billy Mambrasar yang Tuai Kontroversi Halaman all – Kompas.com)
Their hard work paid off. They built Anggi Mart that received a Governor award. The small business was a digital market. It focused on selling fresh fruits and veggies cultivated by Manokwari farmers. They also sold garlic and shallot. With Anggi Mart, local farmers no longer faced difficulties in selling their products.
The government saw that this business could turn into an agricultural business. Seeing this, Anggi Mart was chosen as a pioneer and inspiration to create an agricultural program.
The Indonesian government was keen to yield 2.5 million new, modern farmers. These farmers will work to incite the food security of Indonesia, especially West Papua. Other reasons for creating this program were eradicating hunger and reducing the number of jobless men in Papua.
To guarantee its success, Agriculture Ministry Yasin Limpo was chosen to train those young farmers. Under his supervision, it was hoped that the young farmers would be able to cultivate the land using modern techniques, predict the weather and season, and sell the products via social media. (Mengapresiasi Program Papua Muda Mandiri | Bengkulutoday – Terkini dan Aktual)
Also read: 4 Promising Potencies in West Papua That Can Be Explored (westpapuaupdate.com)
