Miftahudin Nur Ihsan, a graduate of Chemistry Education, Yogyakarta State University (YSU) recently grabbed the 1st position in the 2016 Youth Business Innovation Competition in the field of Entrepreneurship organized by Youth Center BPO DIY, Yogyakarta Special Province. In the final stage held at the Youth Center BPO DIY on 23 June 2016, Miftahudin Nur Ihsan brought Smart Batik Indonesia to grab the top score.

In this competition, Ihsan was in collaboration alumni of SMK Negeri 3 Yogyakarta named Khoirudin Nur Kholifaf. Smart Batik Indonesia is a business on producing and selling batik by Ihsan together with Kholif in the beginning of 2015. There were some points to be valued in this competition, namely business innovation, marketing strategy, financial aspects, and the impact to the surrounding. Despite the newly established business, the business is still valued for the innovation to produce batik with thematic motifs not yet existing in the market, such as motives on education, health, sciences, transportation, economy and agriculture.

Ihsan explained, the marketing strategies that have currently been carried are through the introduction of characters, personal selling, online media and the reselling system. Smart Batik has also toured throughout Indonesia because Ihsan, an active participant for varying student scientific paper competitions, allows students who are having paper competition to sell their products while having the competition. The markets are including Jakarta, Palembang, South Sumatra, Riau, Pontianak, Palangkaraya, and Palu.

In addition to having a well-acclaimed innovative value, the business is capable of contributing to the local community and YSU students in specific aspect. Smart Batik Indonesia has ever become the sponsor of three national-level student activities with the amount of earnings reaching 1.5 million rupiah. Furthermore, Smart Batik is happily to facilitate students who want to earn extra money by selling the product. Helping students who need extra money is one goal of Ihsan to establish such a business, as Ihsan used to be a student who worked while studying in university to gain money for live. As the impact to the community, Smart Batik already contributes in producing batik uniform and improving the welfare of the tailor in Wirobrajan Village, Yogyakarta.

Ihsan and Kholif extend their hopes this business could be matured and developed in the near future, thus become beneficial for community.

As the reward of becoming the winner in the business innovation competition, Ihsan and Kholif were granted 10 million rupiah to develop their business. (witono)