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PNM customer innovates in rose-based product line
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(Courtesy of PNM)
R
oses are renowned for their beauty and alluring fragrance. However, some may be unaware that this symbol of love also offers health benefits.
Driven by curiosity and the plight of local rose farmers unable to sell their flowers during peak seasons, one determined woman set out to innovate a product line made from roses.
Asih Widiyani, a customer of the PNM Mekaar ultra-microfinancing program, has succeeded in realizing her dream of creating rose-based food and beverage products.
"I started with rose sticks, rose syrup and rose chips. It was tough to get the taste right initially, but after many trials and taste testers, people liked it, so I started selling them," explained Asih.
Her products, retailed under the Kwt Gimbal Rejeki brand, have become popular among employees of the Kediri regency administration in East Java, especially as souvenirs to give to official guests of the regency as well as its capital, also named Kediri.
"They find my products unique and order them well in advance. I also sell them online," Asih said.
Thanks to regular training workshops organized by PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), she is now adept at using social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp to sell her products.
Asih credits PNM's empowerment programs for providing the capital and support essential to her business, allowing her rose-based products to benefit her community.
"With PNM Mekaar, I received the capital to start my rose products business without any collateral," she said.
Established in 2015, PNM Mekaar is a microfinance scheme that offers capital loans to underprivileged women microentrepreneurs. PNM Mekaar customers generally possess business knowledge and skills, but their entrepreneurial abilities are often underutilized because of their limited access to working capital.
PNM employs a system of mutual responsibility across all group members to bridge the financing gap, enabling customers to develop their businesses and improve their family’s welfare.
PNM Mekaar offers collateral-free capital financing as well as many other benefits to its customers through a variety training programs, including improved financial management, savings culture development and entrepreneurial competence and business development.
