PENAJAM PASER UTARA (28 August 2023) – The Nusantara Economic Heroes Progam (PENA) has proven to bring benefits to small business actors. The equipment assistance received by PENA program participant in Penajam Paser Utara (PPU) Regency, Kartiah, has increased her turnover.

Kartiah joined the PENA program in 2022. She received equipment assistance in the form of production tools, namely potato chopper and peeler machines. Before receiving the equipment, it took a long time for Kartiah to peel and chop potatoes.

Automatically, her business turnover was slow. This had an impact on her capital turnover which also became slow. "Alhamdulillah, I received PENA assistance in the form of production aids consisting of a potato peeler and chopper. With these tools, peeling and chopping are faster. So production is faster now," said the 45-year-old woman.

Positive effects are also felt in scavenging income. Manually, without the tools from PENA's assistance, Kartiah was able to earn IDR 4 million/month. "Now that there are tools, such as production equipment from PENA assistance, Alhamdulillah, it has increased. My income can reach Rp4-6 million, even more per month," said the resident of Sotek RT 001 Village, Penajam District, PPU Regency.

With her business continuing to climb, Kartiah is ready to graduate from the social assistance (bansos) she has been receiving from the Ministry of Social Affairs. "The tool assistance has increased production volume and reduced work time. God willing, I am ready to graduate from social assistance," she said.

Kartiah has been running a snack business since 2021 under the brand "Yusy Food". Apart from potatoes, there are also several other snacks produced. "Not only mustofa potatoes, there are several other foods, namely onion nuts, cheese cork eggs and akar kelapa," Kartiah said while showing some of the processed snack products.

Kartiah, as the owner of the "Yusy Food" brand, prefers mustofa potatoes to be highlighted in her promotions compared to other snacks.

"What I prefer to highlight and promote is mustofa potatoes because this product is in high demand. Apart from being consumed as a snack, mustofa potatoes can also be consumed as a side dish," Kartiah said.

In running her snack business, she has an obstacle, her limited ability to market her products. She considers it a natural part of everyone's experience and this limitation can help her manage expectations, develop wiser strategies, and find ways to move forward with the challenges.

As a concrete manifestation of these limitations, Kartiah still maximizes what she can do in marketing her processed food products.

"The obstacle I face in running this snack business is marketing. As for the production, Alhamdulillah, I can do it. Because I can't market it online, I market my snacks on WhatsApp. When I'm producing, I make a status, then there are some people who are used to taste and order," she said.

In addition to marketing through WhatsApp, she also distributes mustofa potato preparations to nearby stalls.

"Currently, the marketing is still around the Penajam District area. I leave it in stalls. The rest, there are those who contact or order directly because my number is printed on the packaging, some buyers contact me, order another minimum of 500 grams, even up to 1-2kg," said Kartiah.

To encourage her products to sell in the market, Kartiah tries to obtain a business license related to the processed products she produces. The license that has been obtained is the Business Identification Number (NIB). In addition to licensing, she has also obtained halal certification.

"For the license of Business Actors and Household Industries (PIRT), it is in process because the PIRT requirement must be one year running, then the process takes place. Currently, I am taking care of it, just waiting for it to be published. In addition, I have taken care of halal certification and Alhamdulillah, as of today, the certificate has been issued," she said.

She was happy and touched by the PENA assistance she received. This is proof that someone is paying attention to her business and hopes that her business can survive and develop, and her products can compete with foreign products.

"I hope this business can survive and develop, especially as we all know, in PPU, there will be a new capital city of Indonesia in the future. Hopefully what I produce can compete with products from outside. Don't let PPU's original products lose its competitiveness. Hopefully in the future it can be the best like other products," she said.