Every year the 3/2 MBA program at the Kelley School of Business sends students abroad for 2 months with host organizations across the world. The goal of the program is to provide cultural exchange and share business knowledge between the host organizations and the students. The program has built relationships with organizations over the years with companies in Romania, Vietnam and Taiwan, and in 2019 launched a partnership with Batavia Prosperindo Finance (“BPF”), in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first three students to go were Richard Reece, Mina Cai and Jack Matthews. None of us had ever been to Indonesia before, despite having visited other parts of Asia and Europe and we were very excited to see another part of the world and experience a new culture.
Indonesia is a rapidly growing major economy in Southeast Asia, and the chance to work in an emerging market was appealing to us in deciding where to do our field study. We were also attracted to the opportunity to travel to beautiful and interesting places in and around Indonesia such as Bali, Yogyakarta and Singapore that otherwise are very far and difficult to reach from the US. We were graciously welcomed into Batavia Prosperindo Finance by Pak Bambang and Ibu Tuty, who taught us about the financial industry in Indonesia. We spend most of the time on the ground at the various branches of the Company, talking to real customers and partners about the work BPF does in providing car, heavy equipment and property loans to better understand the business. At the end of our 2-month stay, we researched trends in the Indonesian economy and combined that with our observations to create a report summarizing what we discovered and suggestions we had for the company.
During our stay in Jakarta, we were challenged to change the way we look at things. We had to overcome a language barrier daily and learn to communicate with people from another culture. Although the constant traffic and heat in Jakarta was difficult at first, we soon got used to it and everything became a lot easier. It was especially helpful to have the support network provided by BPF, and a group of people that were always willing to help us whenever we had questions, concerns or just needed travel/food recommendations. Without the help of the people we met such as Reiner, Pak Bambang, Ibu Tuty, Nona and Risma, our trip would not have been nearly as successful. While we are looking forward to returning home to the United States, we plan on returning to Indonesia one day to see everyone again!
Richard Reece, Mina Cai, dan Jack Matthews
(3/2 MBA students, class of 2020)
Thanks to Reiner Riantan (class of 2016) for coordinating with 3/2 MBA students to write this article.