Thanks To BRI Empowerment, Batik Entrepreneurs From Lamongan Enter The Global Market

Trained by BRI, batyik craftsmen from Lamongan managed to add a global market. (IST)

Lamongan may not be widely known as a batik-producing area, but a young person named Umbar Basuki succeeded in changing this perspective through Batik, Soedjono wrote. Not only producing batik cloth, this MSME comes with a big mission to educate the younger generation about batik, but also empower local communities.

"In Lamongan, the public's understanding of batik is still limited," said Umbar when met at the BRI MSME EXPO (RT) 2025 at ICE BSD some time ago. Departing from these challenges, in 2019, Umbar started a custom batik business that provides freedom for customers to create unique motives according to their imaginations.

This concept received a positive response from batik lovers because it guarantees exclusivity, where each motive is made only once without duplication. More than just a product, Batik Soedjono also comes with the mission of changing the stigma that batik write is expensive and stiff. "We want to prove that batik can be modern, flexible, and affordable. Customers can have custom batik starting from IDR 250 thousand per cut," explained Umbar.

The journey to build Batik Soedjono's writing is not easy. Unlike other areas that have an established batik ecosystem, Umbar must build a production network from scratch. Starting from designing, creating patterns, slicing, to coloring, all of which he did himself at the beginning of his business journey. However, as demand increases, he began to involve the surrounding community and provide batik training to local women.

Now, after five years of operation, Batik Tulis Soedjono has grown by having nine permanent employees and five part-time tailors, all from the local community. "This batik is not only about cloth, but also about empowering the community," said Umbar with enthusiasm.

Sebagai UMKM binaan BRI Unit Sugio, Lamongan, Batik Tulis Soedjono mendapat berbagai dukungan dalam pengembangan bisnisnya. Berkat pembinaan BRI, Umbar mendapatkan akses ke berbagai pelatihan, strategi pemasaran, hingga kehubungan dengan penyuat berkualitas dari UMKM binaan BRI lainnya.

"In the past, I only focused on production without knowing how to sell. Thanks to mentoring from BRI and wife support, this business eventually developed and reached a wider market," he added.

Batik's journey Soedjono wrote is not only focused on the domestic market. In 2022, this business managed to receive a special order from Singapore with a typical Lamongan motif, namely Daliwangun, a combination of dali (wittlet) birds and Zagun trees that symbolize the identity of the area. This order is proof that Lamongan batik has competitiveness in the global market. In addition, demand from various big cities in Indonesia, such as Medan, Samarinda, Batam and Ternate, continues to flow.

Seeing the huge benefits of events such as BRI MSME EXPO (RT), Umbar hopes that similar activities can be expanded to small cities so that other MSMEs have greater opportunities in accessing the wider market.

BRI Corporate Secretary Agustya Hendy Bernadi revealed that in the sixth year of its implementation, BRI MSME EXPO (RT) 2025 was again held as part of BRI's strategy in strengthening the role of MSMEs as a driver of the national economy. This event presents a variety of activities, ranging from expo, showcase MSMEs drained, business matching, MSME Award, to art and entertainment installations. The enthusiasm of participants continues to increase every year. This year, as many as 1,000 best MSMEs have successfully passed the rigorous selection and are exhibited in five main categories, namely Home Decor and Craft (153 MSMEs), Food and Beverage (358 MSMEs), Accesssories and Beauty (181 MSMEs), Fashion and Wastra (273 MSMEs), as well as Healthcare and Wellness (35 MSMEs). During the four days of implementation, from January 30 to February 2, 2025, this event successfully attracted more than 63,000 visitors.

This program aims to open MSME access to the global market and increase employment. BRI will continue to encourage job expansion through empowering MSMEs with the aim of improving community welfare," explained Hendy.

Keywords: BRI, BBRI, MSMEs, EXPO(RT), Empowerment, Batik