Fifty five participants of the joint entrepreneurship pilot training between the ILO and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Agency (UNHCR) celebrated their graduation day after participating in the six-month training programme for Indonesian entrepreneurs and refugees titled “Ready for Business Training Programme in mid of February.” The graduates successfully completed 40 training sessions facilitated by facilitators from Atma Jaya University and Dompet Dhuafa.

With a smile beaming on his face, Umar Limber, one of the graduates representing the Indonesian entrepreneurs, received the graduation certificate awarded by Michiko Miyamoto, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia and Thomas Vargas, UNHCR Representative in Indonesia. A graduate student of Bakrie University, Umar’s passion since the middle school was to become an entrepreneur.

“Entrepreneurship is my passion. I am grateful that I can participate in this programme, together with the refugee youth from various countries. I learn so much from my interaction with them about business ideas, plans and implementation. This is such a good learning opportunity for me to continue improving my business skills,” he said. He is now developing an agro-business focusing on organic vegetables.

Similar experience was also felt by Faiza, a refugee from Eritrea, a country in the Horn of Africa. She has been in Indonesia for a year. “The training has taught me to manage my time, to be a risk taker and optimistic. Although I am a refugee, nothing is impossible. The most important thing is how to integrate with people, respecting each other differences and background,” she told, sharing her experiences during the training.

Faiza also took the time to interview some of her fellow refugees about the benefits of the training for them. One of the participants, for example, confessed that the training helped him to collaborate with people around him and to gain his motivation back; while the other said that he gained knowledge on entrepreneurship and was able to make new friends.

Inggrid Wongso, one of the facilitators from Atma Jaya University, also shared her experiences. She admitted that she was very nervous when first facilitating the training. However, along the way, she learnt that the training provided her with a two-way learning process.

“I learnt a lot from the refugee youth. I learnt about their cultures, languages, countries, religions, families, lives and stories. It really gave me a better understanding about their life and background. Thus, I wish all the participants to make the best use of what they have learnt,” she said. Inspired with the entrepreneurial spirit shown by some participants, Inggrid is now starting a Middle-Eastern culinary business.

The training sessions covered five key entrepreneurship themes that were important in developing enterprises: 1. Getting started with entrepreneurship; 2. Dealing with marketing and sales; 3. Managing your business; 4. Focusing on finances; and 5. Preparing for the future.