
ACTNews, BANJARMASIN - Yulia Pitriani's face was glistening with joy as
Global Wakaf – ACT South Kalimantan visited her stall at Sungai Jingah, North
Banjarmasin District, Banjarmasin City. "Alhamdulillah, now my income has
started increasing again because I now can peddle my pempek cart in the
morning. The tires had just been repaired and I just bought a new stove,” said Yulia
when asked how her business was doing on Friday (11/20).
Yulia benefitted
from the Waqf for Micro Business Capital program in October, and now her
business has been running quite smoothly. The only problem is that the price of
fish, the main ingredient of the pempek fishcake, has been increasing. Even so,
it is never a significant problem for Yulia. "The price of fish sometimes
soars, but I still get in covered, Alhamdulillah,” she said.
She wants to
reach even more consumers not only by peddling her cart, but also by partnering
with food delivery apps. When it rains, people rarely come out of their houses,
so it will be easier for het to take order if she partners with online food
delivery apps.
"Yulia has
been encouraged by her mentor to sell her frozen pempek in a more attractive
packaging using the brand Pempek Barokah
to further develop the sales. But she admitted that she still had difficulties
sometimes with keeping track of finances," said Retno Sulisetiyani, Global
Wakaf – ACT South Kalimantan Program Coordinator.
Yulia hoped that,
in the future, she can learn about packaging her products and managing the
finances to further develop her business, and this is what Global Wakaf – ACT is
trying to do. "In each mentoring, we try to make the beneficiaries find
solutions to their business problems. We hope that, Insha Allah, we can help
Yulia solve her problems," hoped Retno.
In addition to
monitoring individual visits, the beneficiaries are also required to repay the
funds on the first installment in November. Retno hoped that the benefit of the
program can expand, especially in South Kalimantan. "Because the
assistance we provide is not only capital assistance, but also the assistance
to develop the businesses. We hope to empower the beneficiaries in these
difficult times. We are inviting generous benefactors to further expand the
benefits of this program," said Retno. []