research of

ENTREPRENEUR BUSINESS IN
INDONESIA
EKA TJIPTA WIDJAJA

Rezky Trinanda Simarmata

7182143011

Major of Business Education

Economy Faculty of State University of Medan
2018
EKA TJIPTA WIDJAJA

He is one of the richest people in

Indonesia according to Forbes
Magazine in 2018 with a wealth of
US $ 9.1 billion.

He is also a founder of The Sinar

Mas Group.
Background Of The Research

Since childhood, Eka Tjipta Widjaja had to live a difficult

life. Not only have to drop out from school, he daily lives are
passed in sorrow. But, because of his determination to change
his life, finally this man was able to turn the wheel of his own
destiny.

Thanks to his tenacity in running his company's business,

he is one of the richest people in Indonesia according to
Forbes Magazine in 2018 with a wealth of US $ 9.1 billion.
And also, Eka Tjipta Widjaja was ranked 2nd as the richest
person in Indonesia. He is the founder and owner of the Sinar
Mas Group. Which is the main businesses are pulp and paper,
agribusiness, property and financial services.
Problem Of The Research

After not going to school anymore, Eka Widjaja began

selling snacks from one house to another. The items that he
sells are biscuits, candy, confectionery, and other snacks. Eka
had to ride the dense forest to take the supply of goods to be
sold. Although difficult, but this business is profitable.
Finally,Eka was able to buy a pedicab to load his merchandise.

When Eka Widjaja's business began to grow, Japan

suddenly entered Makassar. As a result, his business was
bankrupt and was forced to be unemployed for some time. The
financial capital of his business was used up for daily needs.
One time, Eka enjoyed his despair by riding a bicycle around
Makassar. And he arrived at the place that he can saw Japanese
soldiers watching Dutch troops. In addition to, Eka also saw
pile of flour, cement, and sugar that still looked good but was
abandoned.
 Seeing this, Eka's business brain also saw opportunities. He
also approached Japanese soldiers and gave them the free food
and drinks. After that, Eka also asked for flour, cement and
unused sugar for himself. Japanese soldiers also allow. Then Eka
paid her neighbors to transport the large quantities of goods to
his home. Then, Eka sorted out the goods that could still be sold.
Big profits came to him.

After selling the remnant goods of colony, Eka also had the
opportunity to become a contractor for the grave with the cement
that he had. After stopping, he sailed to the Selayar area to buy
cheap copra. He made a big profit. However, it was unexpected
that Japan issued a new regulation which caused this Chinese-
blooded man was totality bankrupt. Despite being suppled, Eka
tried to did business again, selling the sugar, sesame, and
confectionery. When it started to succeeded, the price of sugar
fell and made Eka's business was completely destroyed.
Moreover, he must bear the debt. To pay it off, Eka was able to
sell jeeps, two sedans, even family jewelry.
 Resource

Eka was born in Quanzhou, Fujian, Republic of China, on

October 3, 1923 under the name Oei Ek Tjhong. When he was
9 years old, he migrated to Makassar, South Sulawesi.

He graduated from elementary school, he had to help his

parents by selling. With an elementary school diploma, Eka
who was then 15 years old tried to find a supplier of
confectionery and biscuits. Although many refused, he finally
got a supplier who wanted to work with him. Within two
months, he had gotten a profit of 20 Rupiah (at that time 20
Rupiah was already quite large, the price of rice per kilogram
was still 3 or 4 cents). Because he felt his business was
growing, he bought a pedicab to load his goods.
 However, again he was struck down by disaster. When his
business was going forward, Japan came — to colonize — and
Eka's business was completely destroyed. He became
unemployed. His savings of 2000 Rupiah were eventually used
up for daily use. When he took a walk on his bicycle, he saw
hundreds of Japanese soldiers and saw pile of of flour, cement
and sugar that were still in good condition. Seeing this, Eka
got the idea to open a selling tent in Paotere (the location).

Eka requested permission to remove all goods that had

been disposed of. And the Japanese army boss allowed that.
By paying children at the village, they began to lifted the
goods that were already unused to take to Eka's house. Eka
also began to choose the goods that could still be used and
sold.
 Because it is still in a war, the materials of merlon and daily
necessities are very difficult to obtaine. This situation is certainly
utilized by Eka. He sells flour for 50 Rupiah. Because it is highly
sought, he can sell one sack for 150 Rupiah. Likewise with the
cement, he managed to sell at twice the price of the price he
offered for the first time.

Not satisfied with his efforts, Eka began looking for other
opportunities. He finally turned into a contractor making graves
of the rich. He began to charge 3,500 Rupiah per grave. After
becoming a contractor, he sold copra and sailed to Selayar and
other copra centers in search of cheap copra. Eka had indeed
succeeded in selling copra, but then he almost fell bankrupt
because of the Japanese policy on the price of buying and selling
coconut oil. He also had to find another way out, finally started to
sell sugar, teng teng (typical Makassar food), sesame, and
confectionery. When his business began to developed, the price of
sugar fell so that he lost so much that he had to owe.
 All the businesses he started from zero experienced a fall
and wake up. In 1980, he decided to continue his business and
become a businessman. No half-hearted, he bought ten
thousand hectares of oil palm plantations in Riau and a
machine and factory that could contain 60 thousand tons of oil
palm. Because the business grew rapidly, in 1981 he decided
to buy a 1000-hectare tea plantation and a factory with a
capacity of 20 thousand tons of tea.

In 2006, Eka also built a non-profit organization called

Eka Tjipta Foundation (ETF). With the motto "Planting
goodness, reaping prosperity", this organization focuses on
social and cultural, empowerment and development, economic
community, and environmental conservation. This family-
owned organization has a variety of programs, such as Tjipta
Sarjana Bangun Desa, The Establishment of Nation-Building
Youth, Narrative ETF, Mediation Training,
and BLK Scholarships.
RESULT OF THE PROBLEM

Had fallen several times when trading, and Eka always choose to
get back up again. Until 1980, Eka also used what he had to buy oil
palm plantations complete with factory machinery in Riau. The
business he founded was growing rapidly. In 1981, Eka also bought a
1000 hectare plantation and tea factory. The longer of the business
grew, Eka also expanded into other sectors under the auspices of the
Sinar Mas Group. His intelligence in reading opportunities and taking
advantage of opportunities to deliver he to his success.

Eka Widjaja's figure deserves to be an example in the

business world. The reading sensitivity of opportunities and
learning from experience made it successful. Courage to take
risks and mental endurance when failing is amazing. These
things were not obtained in college, but on the stage of real
life.