Today's Dispatch is not from Indonesia, but about an Indonesian female entrepreneur with a telco startup in Texas, US.

In several email correspondences, I was made aware that Irna Hutabarat is no ordinary woman, at least no ordinary Indonesian woman. Born in Padang, West Sumatra, and growing up in the States, she is now an American citizen, a part of the growing group of Indonesian Americans in the land of Uncle Sam. "Unfortunately Indonesia does not offer dual citizenships," she said.

She is currently work as VP Corporate Development of damaka. This fast-growing communications and collaboration software company is revolutionizing the communications industry by developing a converged media and collaborative communications platform for IP-based networks for end users.

Hutabarat has over 10 years of experience in information technology, project management, sales and media. Prior to damaka, she was a leadership associate with United Technologies where she led the deployment of a sales and supply chain logistics software platform with an estimated annual benefit of US$48 million for Otis China, the company's largest, most diverse and fastest-growing market.

She also developed a go-to-market strategy and pursued key leads for the company's US$160 million F16 fighter jets' spare parts market in Southeast Asia.

Prior to United Technologies, Hutabarat spent over four years with Accenture where she re-engineered business processes for clients including Goldman Sachs, Alex Brown, Lehman Brothers, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the US Department of Defense.

Irna Hutabarat

She also produced stories on political, economic and social issues facing Indonesia while working with CNN in Jakarta.

Hutabarat holds a BA in Chemistry from the George Mason University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Her background is quite interesting. She was born in Padang, West Sumatra, to a poor Indonesian family with an income of about US$60/month. "My mom is a beautiful Minang woman from Bukittinggi and my dad an intense Batak man from Medan," she told.

Her family immigrated to the US when she was 10 years old when her dad, one of the most brilliant men she's known, got a job offer in the US. So she spent most of her growing-up years in the Washington D.C. suburb.

Although she grew up with Mickey Mouse, MTV and hamburgers, her parents always instilled in her a love for Indonesia. Her mom constantly sang Kampuang yang jaoh di mato when she was little, as she reminisces about her homeland, often with sadness. "I sang that song during an MIT bus trip, The Land That is Far from My Eyes. My classmates loved it because many also came from other countries and also missed their homeland," she revealed.

The reason she is telling this personal story is because it affects one of her passions in life, which is to give an opportunity for growth and learning to those less fortunate in Indonesia. "That simple turn of event changed my life as, without it, I might still be a poor woman in Padang, Sumatra, not really knowing my full potential."

She explained that every human being from any walk of life, whether he is the son of a powerful conglomerate or the daughter of a "pembantu" (a housemaid), has the potential to be someone great. "The next Einstein of Indonesia can be that kid who's selling you the latest copy of Femina on the streets of Jakarta," said Hutabarat.

The key to ensuring a nation's prosperity is to enable a country to tap the full potential of its people. The economists call it the leveraging of "human capital". The beauty of the modern world is this: Technology leads to the virtualization of knowledge resources, which enable brainpower to grow and to be nourished in any part of the world.

She said she is working with damaka because the company represents her passion for bringing telecommunications and education access to the poor.

damaka dial-out screenshot

According to her, the damaka team wants to create a Connection Revolution where a standards-based platform can create an interconnected world for all aspects of communications, from a simple phone call to a powerful collaboration session to take place seamlessly, easily and affordably. This is not only for the rich oil tycoon in Texas, but also a struggling student trying to reach out to the world from Padang, Indonesia.

 

fekimoki
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sandynata
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thomasarie
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adriyanto
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