UNAIR NEWS – In this modern era, students are required to always innovate and take advantage of opportunities. One way to channel their creative and innovative ideas is to make a start-up business in accordance with the interests and fields involved.
One of the students of Universitas Airlangga creating a start-up is Zakariya, a student from Faculty of Fisheries and Marine. He is an important figure behind B Pro, a start-up that focuses on supporting fish cultivation.
“In fish farming, problems often found such as fish that die every few days. This certainly inflict financial loss to aquaculture entrepreneurs,” said Zakariya.
He also said that the intensity of frequent replacement of water also led to increased cultivation costs. That’s why a creative idea is needed to solve the problem.
Zakariya said, B Pro is a probiotic product for fish farming. It improves fish immunity from disease and overhaul the harmful compounds found in water.
“So, besides improving immunity, B Pro can also maintain water quality,” he said.
Until now, B Pro has been applied in catfish cultivation. It reduces the risk of disease and the intensity of replacing pond water. It is applied in two ways, mixing B Pro into fish feed and distributing it to pond water.
The start-up design initiated by Zakariya of course had obstacles. He had difficulty with funds and partners needed to pioneer B Pro. However, in the end this problem can be overcome.
Zakariya uses funding resource and utilizing the network he has. In addition, he also sought information from friends about character to be for partnerships.
In his start-up journey, Zakariya has attended the 2019 Indonesia Startup Summit. He had the opportunity to meet and discuss with start-up pioneers in different fields. The event was attended by 500 participants and the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education.
“In Indonesia Startup Summit, we have the opportunity to share about how to design a start-up to be successful and what are the obstacles experienced, from automotive start-ups, culinary, health, social, etc., “explained Zakariya.
At the end of the interview, Zakariya advised the students not to be afraid to create a start-up business. According to him, as long as they have creative ideas and are sure of the innovations made, they can certainly develop well. (*)
Author: Sukma Cindra Pratiwi
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
