Minister Encourages Students to Become Entrepreneurs and Develop Villages

The Minister of Villages and Disadvantaged Regions, Yandri Susanto, has invited students, such as the new intake at the Muhammadiyah University of Jakarta (UMJ), to become entrepreneurs and utilise their university years to research the leading potential of villages.

According to Minister Yandri, this initiative aligns with the Ministry’s ‘Export Village’ programme, which provides villages with the opportunity to export their products to 49 target countries.

“Therefore, do not be afraid to dream, students. Even if you are from the city, you can do business in the village. Become an entrepreneur, because we have 49 export destination countries. They need a lot of chilli, lemongrass, shallots, and so on,” said Minister Yandri, as quoted in Jakarta on Monday.

He shared these remarks while serving as a keynote speaker during the New Student Campus Life Introduction (PKKMB) at UMJ in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten.

In line with this, Minister Yandri advised new students to dare to dream big and hone their leadership potential from an early age. He believes that university is the best place to cultivate personal capacity before stepping up to become the nation’s leaders in the future.

“I want to broaden the horizons of these new students; do not just think about ‘college-boarding house, college-boarding house’—do not do that. This means do not settle for being ordinary students, because I am confident that the students present here will become ministers or governors,” he said.

Furthermore, Minister Yandri shared his family background and the limited public facilities in his home village. However, he noted that these challenges only strengthened his determination to compete during his university years.

“I am a farmer’s son; my mother did not finish primary school. We planted rice and coffee. In my village, electricity only arrived in 2002, and mobile signals only arrived in 2015. You can imagine my village. But did that break my heart? No. Because I believe our future depends on ourselves, by the grace of Allah,” he stated.

Consequently, Minister Yandri reminded the UMJ students not to give up easily in the face of limitations. “So, do not surrender to the situations and conditions that you are currently facing,” he concluded.