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pon reading my previous op-ed piece on entrepreneurship, titled Entrepreneurship as one viable answer for Indonesia (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 8, 2012), some colleagues who are still working abroad said they would start entrepreneurial activities once they got back to Indonesia.

It is indeed great. Any contri-bution of Indonesians through entrepreneurship, albeit small, will benefit our society.

For those who are still abroad, they certainly may start contributing once they return home. Or better still, they can actually do it now instead.

They may think of transferring some of their savings to invest in business areas about which they are passionate. They can also ask friends or even find, to borrow from a popular creative-preneur Helmy Yahya, “business soulmates” to run their targeted businesses. In short there are a number of ways to transform their passions into action.

More than that, they can even think of doing business overseas. Why not? It is not necessary for them to quit their jobs and rush into being full-time entrepreneurs, as they can do business on a part-time basis. Be they professionals, students, or spouses, they can still be entrepreneurs without leaving their main jobs.

I have observed the emergence here in Canberra of some young Indonesian entrepreneurs. They are passionate, smart, hard-working and trying to do their best in entrepreneurship and they still work in their core professions.

Even though Canberra is small compared to cosmopolitant cities such as Sydney, Melbourne or Perth entrepreneurship here is vigorous.

Otherwise, if there were no businesses who would provide services to the people in the capital city?

Indonesian entrepreneurs in Canberra run their businesses in a variety of niche markets. Those who are established export and import goods and services to and from Australia and Indonesia.

For emerging entrepreneurs, their businesses range from catering to cleaning services, from transportation to removals. There are even musical, media (magazine) and multimedia services.

Indonesian entrepreneurial ef-forts abroad undoubtedly need encouragement. Indonesian embassies all over the world must, therefore, be more assertive in opening doors for our entrepreneurs no matter how big or small. Indeed, the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra has been helpful in such endeavors.

Another notable example is in Washington, DC. The Indonesian Embassy there, under creative and energetic Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal, has done even more. Soon after taking up his post, the ambassador challenged Indonesian students in the United States to a business plan competition with appropriate prizes. This is an example of real action that might be multiplied by other embassies in encouraging Indonesian entre-preneurship all over the world.

Another activity worth con-sidering is inviting successful entrepreneurs to share their “entrepreneurship secrets”.

In Australia for example, a young and popular entrepreneur or business motivator, Ippho Santosa, visited at least four cities in Australia late in January to encourage more entrepreneurship among Indonesians down under.

The visit was supported also by a number of young entrepreneurs and social acitivists and the Indonesian mission here.

In the future, it is hoped that more and more successful entrepreneurs will be willing to share their secrets of success with Indonesians abroad. Sandiaga Uno, Helmy Yahya, Elang Gumilang and other big names are much awaited, not only in Australia but for sure all over the world.

Indonesians will always do their best for their country, in whatever sectors they are now employed. Undoubtedly, entrepreneurship can be an area where people can work together, collaborate and contribute to the country in tangible terms. And we can all do it now.

The writer is a scholar, entrepreneur and executive director of Projecting Indonesia.