The student team of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Universitas Brawijaya (FIA UB) finally had to stop in the Semifinals of the 2017 International Business Model Competition (IBMC) which was held in Silicon Valley, California, United States. Previously, Olride Apps, the company name start-up which they established to take part in this world-class competition, had to fight through regular selection rounds by the organizers of IBMC. Faza Abadi and friends finally managed to qualify for the top 40 after competing with 5,953 teams from 545 universities in 27 other countries.
Even though it only reached the semifinals, Olride Apps' struggle deserves a thumbs up. In preparation for leaving for the United States, they are willing to devour various lecture menus and discussions for months with a team of lecturers in the Department of Business Administration, FIA UB. Olride itself is not a product that just came out yesterday afternoon. As an application that aims to bring together motor vehicle owners with repair shops throughout Indonesia, Olride has successfully collaborated with more than 200 repair shops on the island of Java. Not only that, Faza Abadi as CEO of Olride has also succeeded in collaborating with one of the largest motorcycle distributors in Indonesia, MPM Honda.
The Olride Apps team went to Silicon Valley with two of their team members, namely Faza Abadi (CEO) and Rachmat Hidayat (CMO), and was accompanied by Brillyanes Sanawiri MBA, a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration of FIA UB, who acted as a companion lecturer. While arranging departure to Uncle Sam's country, Olride had experienced problems related to immigration. Rachmat Hidayat was once unable to obtain a Visa from the United States Embassy in Indonesia because he was suspected that his name was one of those persons prohibited from entering the United States. However, after lobbying the embassy and the US General Commissioner in Surabaya, the visa was finally issued.
Even though his work at IBMC only reached the semifinals, at least this shows that the knowledge and knowledge of Indonesian students is not inferior to students from top universities abroad. This fact gives good news to the Indonesian people that they are able to compete with the international community.
