A startup fostered by the Directorate of Innovation and Science Techno Park (DISTP) of Universitas Indonesia (UI), Econella, has managed to win first place in The Gade Sociopreneurship Challenge (TGSC) 2024. This competition is a collaboration between PT Pegadaian and the Indonesian Association of Islamic Economists (IAEI) which aims to encourage students to become sociopreneurs in creating sustainable social impacts.
Econella managed to outperform thousands of participants from 104 universities in 23 provinces in Indonesia. This startup carries an innovative product that utilizes clove and lemongrass waste to be processed into bioadditive products. The product has undergone laboratory tests and has a Certificate of Analysis (CoA), which proves that its quality meets the specified specifications. The use of Econella bioadditives has been proven to increase diesel fuel efficiency by up to 25% and average decarbonization by 36%.
As an award for its achievements, Econella received a coaching prize of 30 million rupiahs. The director of Innovation Science Techno Park UI, Ir. Chairul Hudaya, S.T., M.Eng., Ph.D, IPM., expressed his appreciation for this achievement. “UI is very proud of Econella’s achievements as one of the startups fostered in the UI Incubate program. DISTP UI consistently encourages downstream innovation from UI through funding support and various other mentoring programs,” said Chairul.
The Econella team consists of Camelia Putri (student of the Faculty of Engineering), Imam Risky (student of the Faculty of Economics and Business), and accompanied by Aldi Pratama Aji, S.Hum. (Faculty of Humanities) as a mentor from DISTP UI. “We express our deepest gratitude to all parties who have contributed to this achievement, especially DISTP UI which has become our business incubator. We hope that in the future there will be more startups fostered by DISTP UI that can achieve feats. We believe that by continuing to strive and learn, extraordinary things will always be obtained,” said Camelia on behalf of the team.
Through the victory announced on Monday, December 2, at The Gade Tower Ballroom, Jakarta, Econella is expected to continue to develop its innovation and provide a greater positive impact on society and the environment. This achievement is also expected to be a motivation for UI and other young generations to continue to encourage innovation and social entrepreneurship that can answer global challenges while supporting the achievement of sustainable development goals.
