First University of Gloucestershire inspired Growth Hub opens in Indonesia

The first Indonesian Growth Hub, headed up by GITA Consortium member Hari Haryadi, has opened at Universitas Ahmad Dahlan in Yogyakarta, just one year after the official start of the project. The Growth Hub carries the name Kantor Urusan Bisnis dan Inkubasi (KUBI), translated Office of Business Affairs and Innovation.

Universitas Ahmad Dahlan is one of the leading private universities in Indonesia and has been rated as one of the top fifty promising universities by the Indonesian Higher Education Directory. Since its establishment in 1960, the University has sustained a strong tradition of academic integrity and gained an excellent reputation for its educational programmes, research and community services.

Universitas Ahmad Dahlan is part of the Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah, a large Islamic non-governmental organisation that operates schools, charitable hospitals and over 130 universities across Indonesia. The organisation was founded in 1912 in Yogyakarta by Kyai Haji Ahmad Dahlan.

The Chairman of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah Professor Yunahar Ilyas emphasised at the opening event that Muhammadiyah universities must have and develop business units to secure their future sustainability. He said “By establishing KUBI, we hope that the organisation will encourage the growth of business units and bring forth other units”.

The opening event was attended by the Mayor of Yogyakarta, Drs. Haryadi Suyuti. In his remarks, he expressed his expectation that the inauguration of KUBI will improve the standard of living and the economy of the community, as well as bring new innovations in the field of entrepreneurship, mainly improving the quality of the business of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in order to improve their competitiveness. He said “With the opening of KUBI, we appreciate UAD as a university that has commitment and dedication to the field of entrepreneurship. We hope that UAD will collaborate with the government and local stakeholders to empower the people of Yogyakarta”.