Jullie’s story

Using the Foundation’s HerVenture app and participating in its Road to Growth programme for six months highlighted the major gaps in my financial education and taught me to how better communicate with my team and effectively market my brand. Because of this, I’m now building a team of individuals who understand financial records and hiring younger workers who know how to use digital marketing tools like Instagram and TikTok to broaden my reach and promote my products to their generation. I want to educate young Indonesians about how sagon fits into their culinary heritage and how these Indonesian products are high quality and Instagram and TikTok are the way to do that. Whereas with my generation, most people are comfortable using Facebook, but none of the other platforms. So I’m working on developing a presence across all platforms.

I also worked with coach Rini during the Road to Growth program. She has an educational background in product development and pushed us to make pitch decks. I made mine for grilled sagon, a product I’d been wanting to launch for a long time. Originally, my target market were vegans, but Rini advised that I could expand the demographic. Because pediatricians recommend this product for children, I began producing cookie dough made from grilled sagon. To sweeten it, I use organic chocolate from Bali and organic coconut sugar.

I believe that during the pandemic, most people returned to consuming healthy foods because they were doing much of their cooking at home. So I saw this as a business opportunity as well. I could promote our products to mothers who are balancing the responsibilities of housework and home-schooling their children by highlighting how our products are easy to prepare and contain ingredients that are beneficial for toddlers’ growth.

It’s important to support women entrepreneurs because women can multi-task and save the world. It’s been said that throughout the history of Indonesia, women entrepreneurs saved the country from economic crises through the existence of women-owned SMEs. We strive for better welfare.

At my age, I want to focus on my mission to educate younger generations about our local products and to take pride in Indonesian agriculture. I also want to encourage women who are my age to get out of the comfort zones and start businesses of their own so, if necessary, they can live independently. Ultimately, I just want to be make a positive impact. I believe that if I do, God will send me his helping hand. I’m not driven by profits. I see the ultimate reward as health and happiness for my family.

In the future, I hope my children will become more involved and that my team of young people will stay motivated to keep going and be proud of local products. If were are never proud of local products and get distracted by imports, we’ll lose our momentum and Indonesian businesses will fail. We need to invest in creators, whether they be in the arts or the culinary fields and we need to support women-owned SMEs so they grow and don’t need to compete with bigger companies. This is the only way they will be strong enough to face the future.