I

t was never too early for senior high school students like Idris Maulidina, 16, of SMK 6 vocational school Jakarta, and her peers to start their own business venture. Idris and other 19 students, grouped under the Garda Infinity student company flag, were the 20 individuals selected to represent their school to advance to the Indonesia Student Company Competition (ISCC) 2015 in August in Jakarta.

They created Double S, which stands for shoes and sandals, a pair of shoes made of suede and synthetic leather that can transform into a pair of sandals just by opening the zipper.

'€œIt was the rainy season when the idea came up about six months ago. Many people suffered at the time because their shoes got wet so we thought why not create shoes which can transform into a pair of sandals,'€ Idris told The Jakarta Post recently.

Another team member, Hilwa Ananda, 16, acknowledged that the team was still developing the product design, despite having already sold 17 pairs of Double S within five months. Each pair was sold for Rp 150,000 (US$10).

'€œWe keep developing the design and seeking the best material. Time constraints are also among the challenges that we face because we still have to study and go to school every day,'€ said Hilwa, who also added that the team could only produce three pairs of shoes per month.

With their Double S idea and business presentation, the team managed to finish second, following SMKN 4 Denpasar, which will advance to the international competition with their fruit-based soap. SMA Pembangunan Jaya, which produced a hat that can transform into a bag, was placed third.

SMKN Denpasar, will represent Indonesia at the Asia-Pacific student company competition in South Korea in February

Meanwhile, the Ethnic SC (student company), which represented SMA 1 Sleman, Yogyakarta, came up with an idea to develop anti-radiation gadget cases, aimed at tapping the growing market of gadget users.

'€œWe got the idea after the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan [in 2011]. A friend of ours sold active charcoal to Japan as it was said to be able to mitigate the radioactive contamination. We also consulted [experts with] Batan [the National Nuclear Energy Agency],'€ Dida Wafi, the team spokesman, said.

The Ethnic SC team extracted active charcoal from bamboo and inserted it into gadget cases suitable for handphones, tablets and laptops.

'€œThe charcoal can reduce the impact of radioactivity by up to 40 percent,'€ he said, adding that the cases were sold for various prices ranging between Rp 30,000 and Rp 50,000.

'€œWe still have to develop the design as we expect to be able to export our products. I hope we can continue our venture even after the competition is completed,'€ he said.

SMA 1 Sleman advanced to the international student company competition in 2013 and finished third, as well as winning the first place for financial management.

SMA 1 Sleman teacher and team supervisor Agus Suprapto attributed the students'€™ success to support from school management.

'€œWe fully supported the students'€™ participation because it is a good opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial spirit. It is important because I think today'€™s young generation is rather consumptive,'€ he said, adding that he hoped the government would also support young entrepreneurs.

'€œSmall and medium enterprises have proven to be an effective buffer during global economic slowdowns like this,'€ Agus added.

ISCC 2015 program manager Utami Anita Herawati pointed out that innovation and administrative management contributed the most points to participants.

'€œIt is not easy for students like them to juggle study and business commitments. The other key factor was support from school management,'€ she said.