Yogyakarta, October 29th 2023─The student team from the Department of Social Development and Welfare (PSdK) Fisipol UGM succeeded in winning second place at the national level in the Ekraf Got Talent Business Plan Competition “Adapting to a Revolutionized Digital Era” 2023 organized by the Kementerian Ekonomi Kreatif (Ministry of Creative Economy) BEM KM University Gadjah Mada. Nasyawa Nurshafala, Camilla Qivtia Anggun S.N, and Vanya Medyana Puspita won the championship with their M-Becak business idea which promotes the empowerment of pedal rickshaw drivers in the Malioboro area, Yogyakarta.
M-becak (mobile rickshaw) is a business idea based on an online rickshaw ordering application in the Malioboro area. The features provided are not limited to ordering wooden trishaws but include tour packages to get around the tourist areas around Malioboro. The vision raised by the PSdK team through the M-Becak application is preserving local heritage by using pedal rickshaws and traveling around Malioboro. Starting from the concerns of becak drivers in the Malioboro area, whose existence as a cultural heritage is currently starting to decline, it is hoped that M-Becak can be a solution to empower pedal becak workers in the current digital era.
“As a PSdK student who is concerned about realizing the welfare of marginalized communities, this idea includes a social mission to empower pedicab workers who have not received the right solution from relevant stakeholders,” explained Nasya.
The PSdK student team was guided by Matahari Farransahat, S.E., M.HEP. or familiarly called Mas Sais, hopes that the business idea through M-Becak can be implemented with the participation of related parties such as the Tourism Department and technology company investors.
“We hope that the local Tourism Department can support the development of this idea considering that our main goal is to increase the existence of pedal rickshaws as a culture and strive to maintain local heritage. “We also hope that investors from technology companies will be able to provide assistance considering that creating application services requires a large amount of funds,” said Nasya.
Competing with 68 other teams, the business idea pitching competition was held offline at the UGM Innovative Academy and brought 2nd place to the PSdK student team. According to Nasya, taking part and having the opportunity to become a champion in the business plan competition is a valuable experience in honing creative and critical thinking.
Moreover, this innovation supports sustainable development goals (TPB). Especially in point 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and point 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
“When we won, we felt a sense of relief and pride,” said Nasya.