The webinar “Building a Fisheries Business Startup from a University” presented the CEO of MINAPOLI, Rully Setya Purnama, Prof. Dr. Yushinta Fujaya, a fishery lecturer at Hasanuddin University (UNHAS), the head of the Tilapia Cultivation Entrepreneurial Scientific Research Team and Dr. M. Iqbal Jawad, UNHAS fishery lecturer and chairman of the Indonesian Aquaculture Society (MAI) of South Sulawesi who was elected recently by acclamation. Guided by Dr. Nita Rukminasari, the activity was lively in the cold weather due to the rain pouring down South Sulawesi. The webinar activity on the afternoon of January 20, 2022, was attended by more than a hundred participants, both online and offline in the courtroom of the Faculty of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, UNHAS.

With the spirit of self-improvement to make the campus a creator of reliable Human Resources (HR) who will contribute to the progress of the nation and state through technological entrepreneur activities, the Head of the Fisheries Department of FIKP (Dr. Fahrul, S.Pi., M.Si) initiated and organized this event well.

Startups have become a necessity for this country to boost and advance the nation’s economy through the young generation who are competent to manage abundant Natural Resources. Startups are different from MSMEs even though they both carry out business activities, explained Mr. Rully in response to the participants’ questions. The main difference lies in the vision and mission. Startup formation is based on efforts to solve global problems, while MSMEs usually have a much simple business background.

Still according to Mr. Rully, who also serves as Deputy Secretary-General of MAI, there are several conditions of Fisheries and Marine Human Resources that are obstacles to entering the world of successful startups/entrepreneurs, namely: 1) Mastery of soft skills is still limited, 2) Lack of passion for working in the field of fisheries and marine, 3) Not ready to be an entrepreneur, 4) Not liking to work in the field, 5) Competence is not aligned with the needs in the industry, and 6) Limited business/information network.

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