BOGOR, WEST JAVA – Dompet Dhuafa’s Madina Zone MSME House received new support through collaboration with Scarf Media on women’s empowerment. On Thursday (19/12/2024), Scarf Media CEO, Temi Sumarlin, was present at Teras Madina Dompet Dhuafa, Kemang, Bogor, to provide motivation and marketing strategies. This program aims to help women entrepreneurs in the Madina Zone MSME House to be more competitive and economically independent.
Scarf Media, which has been supporting Dompet Dhuafa for almost a decade in providing benefits to the people, as part of this collaboration, Scarf Media visited Zona Madina as a portfolio of Dompet Dhuafa’s area-based programs, which include five main pillars of education, economy, health, culture, social and da’wah.
This program is designed to provide an understanding of the empowerment initiatives carried out by Dompet Dhuafa, as well as support strategic programs in the economic field through MSME empowerment to 25-30 MSMEs assisted by Dompet Dhuafa.
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The common vision between Scarf Media and Dompet Dhuafa led to a joint discussion aimed specifically at the beneficiaries of the Madina Zone MSME House. In this session, Scarf Media will provide motivation and share marketing strategies with MSME players, to help increase the competitiveness of their businesses in the market.
“Dompet Dhuafa is quite concerned about not just giving, but really educating and assisting these friends so that they can become more empowered people. So, I think this is in line with Scarf Media because there are also many programs related to empowerment, especially since the majority of MSMEsare usually women, so we are very, very supportive if there are programs that are empowering to women and they can be much more financially independent. Because, the dominant effect will definitely be felt by the family,” said Temi.
Scarf Media Indonesia is a halal lifestyle digital media that has been established for 13 years. It has a community of approximately 85 thousand readers. With the majority of readers are Muslimahpreneurs, fashion, culinary business owners, and so on. Scarf Media also focuses on social issues, especially for women empowerment.
At the joint discussion, Temi Sumarlin, with her 26 years of experience building businesses, emphasized that capital is not the main thing in starting a business. She highlighted the importance of mentally training entrepreneurs, especially in the face of success, as success often makes one forget to be grateful and share.
Some key tips for running a healthy business according to Temi Sumarlin include:
- Separate Business and Personal Finances: This is important to know whether the business is profitable or not.
- Keep Records: Recording every expense and income, including small costs such as electricity, gasoline, and salaries, is crucial for financial evaluation.
- Maintain Product Quality: Quality is the best marketing strategy. A quality product will build consumer trust.
- Expand Distribution Channels: Optimizing digital platforms such as and social media will expand market reach. It is also important to pay attention to product visuals to attract potential buyers.
“I usually adjust the material because the presenters are micro businesses. Friends who really started their business from scratch so actually what I convey are basic things that should be fundamental and those basic things are sometimes forgotten by MSMEs,” said Temi Sum.
Temi also suggested targeting a wider market, including exports. This requires the application of various knowledge, such as attractive product packaging, effective storytelling, and communication strategies in sharing product information. Even for simple sales via WhatsApp to people nearby, the right techniques are needed to make the product more attractive and able to increase buyer interest.
“I had said that I really welcome it if in the future we have a more targeted, focused empowerment program, so that the real results can be seen so that it will give birth to strong entrepreneurs and successful entrepreneurs, and hopefully with the entrepreneurial spirit of friends in the MSMEs assisted by Dompet Dhuafa it will also accelerate our country to become an advanced country,” he added.
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This sharing session took place interactively, Siti Nurrahma or who is familiarly called Ade, who is a beneficiary of the Madina Zone UMKM House, was happy with this activity. Ade has a Kencur Rice Chips production business, one of whose marketing has received assistance from Dompet Dhuafa.
Ade owns the Kencur Rice Chips production house with three employees and received assistance from Dompet Dhuafa in the form of a chip milling machine. Previously, in 2020 he joined the MSME group in Ciseeng District which then joined the Madina Zone MSME House.
“I am very happy, thank God I was invited so we get extraordinary knowledge. In my opinion, from the start we are curious, our packaging must be good, especially bookkeeping. Hopefully there will be more (similar) training to increase our knowledge. I thank Dompet Dhuafa for inviting me, thank you also to Mrs. Temi Sumarlin for providing very useful knowledge for our MSMEs, “explained Ade.
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Suci N Qadarsih, as General Manager of Marketing Dompet Dhuafa, said that participants in the Madina Zone MSME House are expected to take advantage of the opportunity to learn and start a business, both through existing programs and other production.
After providing new insights to 30 Dompet Dhuafa-assisted MSMEs, Temi Sumarlin was invited to see and interact directly with the beneficiaries in the Madina Zone. He saw firsthand how the empowerment of the Greenhouse, Mini Zoo, Madina Zone MSME House, Guest house, Cafe Madaya, STIM Budi Bakti, Dompet Dhuafa Integrated Health Hospital (RST), and visited Bumi Pengembangan Insani.
Temi also provided guidance and advice to SMART Ekselensia Indonesia students to remain enthusiastic about achieving their goals by actively organizing and daring to take opportunities. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Anndini Dwi Putri
Editor: Dhika