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Jakarta, November 9, 2023 – Originating from a construction entrepreneur, Astin Atsna has transitioned to become an exporter of coconut sugar. This business journey has been undertaken by the resilient woman behind CV Hugo Inovasi, who decided to venture production of organic coconut in 2019.
Astin's experience in the coconut sugar industry started in 2012 when she started assisting local coconut sugar farmers. Astin enhanced the competencies of these farmers, improved production and increased their income.
As time passed, Astin looked for business opportunities. She realized that coconut sugar not only satisfies the local market but also potential to penetrate the global market. Drawing from her mentoring experience, Astin founded CV Hugo Inovasi in 2019 and made exports their goals.
"At present, we provide to mentors around 1,000 supported farmers. CV Hugo Inovasi offers support through training, and production tools, with the hope the farmers can diversify products, increase product quantity, and improve quality," said Astin.
The mentoring provided by Astin has yielded very positive results. From only producing raw materials and now also value-added products such as molded sugar, liquid sugar, and crystal sugar.
To succeed in expanding the global market, Astin always maintains the quality of its products. She has established a quality control system responsible for maintaining product quality. Astin personally monitors the product conditions at the farmer level and provides the necessary mentoring to ensure good product quality.
"Besides providing mentoring, we had regular meetings to share knowledge and insights with farmers to maintain product quality. Our mentoring has also been able to increase coconut sugar farmers' income by up to 30%," she added.
As the result, the coconut sugar products of CV Hugo Inovasi are highly sought in the global market. These products, originally from Banyumas, have reached 10 countries such as the United States, Spain, Ghana, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Australia. To date, more than 90% of CV Hugo Inovasi's sales come from exports.
Astin attributes this success to her keen business acumen, hard work, and collaboration. One of these collaborations involves leveraging financing from the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI) through the Export Special Assignment program to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in export-oriented businesses. The financing from LPEI is used as working capital to meet the demands of foreign buyers and increase their production capacity.
"The presence of LPEI among SMEs is very helpful. Besides obtaining financing from LPEI, we can also consult, for example, on how to prepare good financial reports," said Astin.
She hopes that the support provided by LPEI will increase business capacity, and expand market access, allowing her efforts to continue embracing more local farmers and improving their well-being.
As the backbone of Indonesia's economy, the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) sector plays a crucial role in job creation, income improvement, and economic diversification for the country.
The Export-Oriented SME Program is a form of the government's presence through the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, providing LPEI as a form of support from the state budget to export-oriented businesses. With this program, export-oriented SMEs have access to financing, export guarantees, export insurance, and consulting services.
From 2021 to September 2023, state budget support through the Export-Oriented SME Program has reached IDR 924 billion, utilized by more than 120 SME players, and more than 30 products to more than 40 export destination countries.
"The Export-Oriented SME Program is a form of the government's presence through the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia provided to LPEI as a form of support from the state budget to export-oriented business players. With this program, export-oriented SMEs have easier access to financing, export guarantees, export insurance, and consulting services," explained Maqin U. Norhadi, the Managing Director of Business Development at LPEI.
Media's Liason
Chesna F. Anwar
Corporate Secretary – Lembaga Pembiayaan Ekspor Indonesia
Ph. : (021)39503600
Email : corpsec@indonesiaeximbank.go.id
Web : http://www.indonesiaeximbank.go.id
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