Training entrepreneurs in Raja Ampat, West Papua

Seventythree is working with Starling Resources as part of the project to ensure the political, social and economic sustainability of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Bird’s Head Seascape (BHS) of West Papua. The project is funded by the Walton Family Foundation.

One of our projects is to strengthen the capacity of the local entrepreneurs that own and operate homestays in the Raja Ampat islands. They already have a good instinctive grasp of the main features and attitudes of a successful entrepreneur. In fact, they are some of the most impressive small business owners we have encountered in Indonesia in the past decade. But they are keen to improve their technical skills and thus grow resilient enterprises, and demonstrate to their community (and Papua at large) how financial independence is one of the stepping stones to securing lasting political influence.

Our first training session, held in Waisai in May 2013, introduced the participants to our adaptation of the Osterwalder ‘Business Model Generation‘ planning canvas. This proved to be an effective way to describe the different building blocks of a successful business. The next session will drill down into customer insights and how to design a responsive and adaptable business