Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS), through its international community service team, has successfully implemented a digital marketing mentoring program for Indonesian diaspora entrepreneurs in Auckland, New Zealand. This initiative, supported by RisetMu funding from the Diktilitbang Council of PP Muhammadiyah, targeted Fabolous Work Group Ltd., the parent company of Mill Bakery, to strengthen business competitiveness in the international market.
The activity, which took place in late May 2026, was led by lecturers from the Informatics Engineering Education (PTI) and Geography Education study programs at UMS, Hardika Dwi Hermawan and Siti Hadiyati Nur Hafida, in collaboration with social media practitioner Rian Fahardhi. The team focused on mapping partner needs to reach a broader market, particularly the Asian-Kiwi community segment, which holds significant economic potential in Auckland.
In an effort to create authentic content, the team went directly into the field to document Mill Bakery's operational processes from the early hours of the morning. This approach aimed to ensure that the resulting business narrative was not just visual promotion, but could also communicate the values, struggles, and quality of the production process to the audience in a more personal and profound way.
The results of this mentoring showed an impressive impact on the partner's social media performance. One piece of produced content successfully garnered 321,000 views, with follower growth reaching 26.28 percent in just one week. In addition to marketing materials, the program also equipped 15 Indonesian diaspora members with practical skills, ranging from photography techniques using basic devices to mastering social media algorithms.
In addition to strengthening digital literacy, this visit was utilized by UMS leadership to explore strategic collaborations with Fabolous Work Group Ltd. This partnership includes remote internship development opportunities for UMS students, as well as ongoing collaboration in education, research, and human resource development at a global level.
