Profile Of Nurhayati Subakat: An Inspirational Story Of The Founder Of Cosmetic Wardah From Padang Panjang To The International Market

Nurhayati Subakat (Instagram/@paragoncorp)

YOGYAKARTA - Nurhayati Subakat is known as one of the most influential female entrepreneurs in Indonesia. She is the founder of Wardah Kosmetic, a Muslim beauty brand that is now an icon in the world of Indonesian beauty. His struggle and perseverance in building a business from scratch made his life story an inspiration for many people.

Wardah is not only known for the quality of its products, but also because of the halal and ethical values that its founders uphold. Under the leadership of Nurhayati Subakat, Wardah grew into a symbol of the success of Indonesian Muslim entrepreneurs.

The great success he achieved was not an instantaneous result, but the fruit of hard work, persistence, and sincerity. In her long journey, Nurhayati had experienced a big failure, but the spirit of never giving up made her able to rise and go further.

The name Nurhayati Subakat as the founder and owner of the Paragon Group is one of the conglomerates who bought Patriot Bonds. He and other conglomerates have the latest bonds from BPI Danantara (Danantara Indonesia). This debt/investment letter was launched by BPI Danantara to support the financing of the country's strategic projects.

Nurhayati Subakat was born in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra, on July 27, 1950. He was known as an intelligent figure since childhood and grew up in an environment that instilled values of discipline and honesty.

Nurhayati studied at the Diniyyah Puteri Islamic Boarding School and continued to Padang before finally being accepted at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) majoring in Pharmacy. During her studies at ITB, her love for the pharmaceutical sector is growing.

At ITB, Nurhayati met Subakat Hadi, who would later become the main husband and supporter in her life and career journey. After graduating on time, Nurhayati returned to West Sumatra and worked as a pharmacist at a hospital in Padang.

Not long after, he decided to move to Jakarta to expand his experience by working at a well-known cosmetic company. In the company, he has a career as a quality control staff and understands many things about quality standards and cosmetic production.

With the experience gained, Nurhayati began to make a shampoo product called Puteri at her own home. She runs her business simply, assisted by one employee who is her assistant. She then introduced the product to salons in Jakarta and began to get a positive response from the community.

His business grew rapidly until he finally founded PT Pusaka Traditional Mother to manage his business professionally. However, a few years later a big ordeal came when the factory caught fire. The incident made him almost close to closing his business due to large losses and bank debts that had not been paid off.

Even though she was hit hard, Nurhayati did not give up. With the support and capital of her husband's savings, she bounced back, paid employee salaries, and rebuild her factory. From that spirit, a major innovation was born in the form of halal cosmetics called Wardah in 1995, which was intended specifically for Indonesian Muslims.

Wardah is quickly accepted widely because it prioritizes principles of halal, safe, and high quality. Sales increased rapidly in 1999-2003, making Wardah one of the most popular cosmetic products in Indonesia. Not only successful domestically, Wardah has also succeeded in penetrating foreign markets such as Malaysia.

In 2011, his company changed its name to PT Paragon Technology and Innovation, which now houses various well-known brands such as Wardah, Make Over, and Emina. Under Nurhayati's leadership, Paragon grew rapidly with thousands of employees and product distributions reaching all over Indonesia.

For her dedication and success, Nurhayati Subakat received various awards, including being one of the best CEOs in Indonesia. He is known as a humble figure and has high concern for the development of human resources.

The life story of Nurhayati Subakat is a clear proof that hard work, honesty, and belief can lead to great success. From the small city of Padang Panjang to the international market, his struggle has become an inspiration for the younger generation and Indonesian women to continue to dare to dream and do business.