Nina

–How did you get to know very50?

I met with Ryosuke Sugaya, CEO of very50, in Hanoi in November 2010. Both of us attended a social enterprise workshop organized by the British Council. After my presentation in the workshop, many participants approached me to show their interests in my activities. They promised to come to my workplace in Cisalopa village and support me in some way. But Ryo was the only person who actually came to my workplace to see what my activities are all about.

He suggested that I make profits from my activities to make my business more sustainable. I didn’t have such an idea before, so I was really surprised and I totally agreed with the idea. I think I am the luckiest entrepreneur because there are so many people who are willing to help us. To tell the truth, I didn’t know anything about business management before but with the help of Ryo and the MoG members, I am slowly learning how to run a business.

–Why did you decide to work with very50 through the MoG program?

At the British Council event, Ryo introduced what he’s doing at very50 and suggested the possibility of working together with me and Sandra, who was the staff of British Council, through the MoG program. After he came to Cisalopa village he said that the MoG program would be very helpful for my business.

On the first day when he came, I already thought of the MoG program as being essential for my business. The fact that very50 doesn’t charge expensive fees helped me decide to work with them as well. The only thing I am supposed to do is to prepare some rooms for the MoG members at my place, so I don’t need to pay for their accommodation. Among others, the biggest reason I have decided to do the MoG program was I could trust Ryo. Many people showed their interests in us, but Ryo was the only person who actually came to Cisalopa villge, which is far from Jakarta.

–What does a typical day look like during the MoG project?

At the preparation phase, the MoG members communicate a lot with me via emails, Facebook and Skype. During the MoG program in Indonesia, we worked on a variety of things such as mission setting, vision making, 4P & 3C analysis, product quality management, pop, our trash bank system development and sales channel development. We also held an event called “Clean up Cisalopa village”. Over the break, we also enjoyed cooking Japanese and Indonesian food together. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner together everyday to get to know each other.

–Do you keep in touch with the MoG members after the MoG program has ended? If so, how do you interact?

I had three opportunities to work with very50 though the MoG program in summer 2011, spring 2012, and summer 2012 respectively, and meet with many participants. It means I have made a lot of friends in Japan. Even after the MoG program, they often get in touch with me and ask me, “How is everything with Greenna?” In December 2012, when I visited Japan, they warmly welcomed me, gave me a present, showed me around Tokyo and helped me do some research on the Japanese market.

–What was the output that the MoG program created for your business?

During the MoG program, we focused on making a business plan, developing new sales channels and improving products. We developed new selling channels of Greenna and made some pops. As our social activities, we visited a school for environment education, cleaned up Cisalopa village and made a garbage disposal system. We had a difficult time in creating the Greenna’s mission and vision. We spent much time blushing up Greenna’s mission and vision. It was very helpful for me.

–How has very50 supported your activities in addition to the MoG program?

very50 invited me to Japan. I could learn a lot about the Japanese market including the fact that consumers in Japan are very interested in eco friendly products. They also arranged some meetings with those who are running fair trade shop in Japan for me. Ryo and other very50 staff members keep supporting us in many ways such as business management, a monthly report and so on.

–Please tell us your vision for the future. (what is your next step!?)

The dream of Greenna is building a sustainable eco-village system, which can solve environment problems and empower every local small community. In order to achieve the goal, we are aiming to expand our social activities, deliver environment awareness programs, produce recycled products and make a profit circulation system, etc.