Efforts to encourage local business players to scale up are no longer relying solely on capital and market mastery. Airlangga Business Community (ABC), an organization under the auspices of the Airlangga University Alumni Association (IKA UNAIR), initiated a concrete step through the National Business Symposium held at Surabaya Suites Hotel on Friday (24/7/2026). This synergy brought together various strategic elements ranging from startups, corporations, to banking, academics, and regulators.
ABC Chairman, Dicky Fanani, emphasized that modern industrial challenges demand business players to be adaptive and expand their networks. Through this forum themed "Weaving Collaboration, Unlocking Multi-Stakeholder Synergy Access for a Resilient Business Ecosystem", ABC positions itself as a bridge connecting business needs with access to financing, academic research, and regulatory ease from the government.
This tactical step is part of the long-term implementation of the ABC Blueprint 2045. Through this roadmap, the strength of the UNAIR alumni network is driven not just to be a gathering forum, but transformed into a productive ecosystem. This cooperation is expected to resolve classic business obstacles, such as limited product innovation which can be overcome through university research, and expansion needs bridged by the financial sector and investors.
Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Oil and Gas Division of the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Tri Prakoso, highlighted the importance of business organizations' role in providing legal and regulatory advocacy for their members. He cited the example of sustainable mentoring for MSME players in Banyuwangi Regency. There, business players are guided step-by-step starting from financial recording, managing home industry food legality (PIRT), halal certification, to upgrading product standardization to be ready to compete in a wider market.
Research-based collaboration was also a key highlight in this discussion. For instance, adapting certain agricultural commodities to tropical regions requires in-depth research with universities to produce superior seeds suitable for local soil conditions. On the other hand, from the funding and regulatory aspects, representative of Bank Syariah Indonesia Ahmad Nuruddin and Secretary of the East Java DPMPTSP Shovitusholihah also explained sharia financing opportunities and the importance of legal certainty to keep the regional investment climate conducive.
