Yogyakarta, August 20th 2022—SOPREMA on its seventh anniversary held a webinar titled: “SOPREMA Talk #1: Talking About Social Problems as a Young Sociepreneur Strategy of Innovation” on Sunday (20/8). This event was held through a hybrid scheme in Fisipol UGM’s Auditorium Room and was live streamed through Fisipol UGM’s Youtube account.
In SOPREMA Talk #1, the speakers invited were inspirational and experienced such as Janu Muhammad (Founder & CEO of Sayur Sleman) and Fano Alfian (Co-Founder of Ailesh Power). The event’s moderator was David Regiasmara (Youth Studies Centre Fisipol UGM).
SOPREMA Talk #1 talked about several interesting things regarding how social problems are made into an innovation strategy by young sociopreneurs. Sayur Sleman and Ailesh Power are sociopreneur startups that were founded to solve the social issues in their community. As startups, it’s essential to analyze the problems in our community and then work to solve them as a way to create a relevant product or service.
“We need to change our mindset. First, we need to find the problem. If we jump ahead and find the solution first, then who will need that solution? Who will use it?” Fano said.
Take for example, Sayur Sleman which was founded because there was a problem among vegetable sellers that experienced a decrease in sales because of COVID-19 and hence needs to digitize their sales in order to stay relevant. Ailesh Power also went through the same route. They tried to initiate products and services to contribute to the climate movement through wise management, developing sustainable energy, and social mentoring.
A unique value proposition is something that businesses need. According to Janu, more often than not, platforms or businesses initiated can’t survive because they are too similar to other businesses. Additionally, sociopreneurs also need to balance their profit and their social goals through money management, the creation of targets, as well as financial planning.
Finally, the discussion ended with a question and answer session with attendees that were there virtually or physically. Several interesting questions were raised, and one of them was about how to gather a potential and loyal team. According to Fano and Janu, this can be done by choosing people that have the same vision as our company and the people in it. We can also choose the people that are closest to us that want to learn together.