Jakarta – the APKASI (Association of Indonesian Regency Governments) Autonomy Expo was successfully held at the Jakarta Convention Center from 20-22 July 2022. The ceremony was officially opened by the Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian where in his remarks he announced his full support for the running of the APKASI 2022 through the introduction of buyers and investors so as to provide an opportunity for the Regents to directly promote the featured products hailing from their respective regions.
As a member of APKASI, the Merauke Regency joined in enlivening AEO this year by displaying a number of their featured products, two of them being the Noken Bark and the Noken Baba Fruit fostered by PT BIA produced by the women of Selil Village, Kindiki Villageand Muting District.
During the Investment Dialogue session, Ms. Justina Sianturi as the Head of the Merauke Regency DPMPTSP participated in promoting Noken as a local product created by the village community offered to the buyers and investors in attendance.
As many as 256 APKASI participants out of a total of 416 were in attendance at this year’s AEO and were present at the exhibition.
The Noken Bark and the Noken Baba Fruit attracted the attention of visitors during the exhibition. As many as ± 582 visitors were entranced by the Noken displayed by PT BIA. A number of the visitors were prepared to support the promoting of the products be it domestically or internationally. In addition, some of the notable visitors who attended include the Chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Villages, the Central Statistics Agency, the press, the Regent of Muara Jambi, the Morowali Regent, website bloggers, and many more.
Enthusiasm was also displayed by the 5th place holder of the Putri Indonesia 2015 and by Dr. Hendra Sudrajat, SH, MH Dumantara Research Institute winner of MURI records as both were very impressed with the products created by the women of Kindik, Selil, and Muting in the form of testimonials distributed by way of social media, specifically Instagram.
The main reason behind PT BIA’s participation in the event is assist in the promotion of Noken produced by the hard-working women of Selil, Kindiki, and Muting in the hopes that their products can penetrate both the domestic and international markets, thus increasing their income as well as improve their welfare.
In the AEO 2022 event, Merauke Regency was the only district to win the Best Stand Award in the “FAVORITE” category out of all the participating districts.