Known as one of the most popular meals in Indonesia, Tofu, becomes source of income for Eti Nurhayati. Her decision to manage a tofu factory which was inherited from her parents brought an enormous influence to her welfare. Armed with her experience as a teacher, Eti Nurhayati, 53 years old, has never given up to develop her business. In 1989, Eti left her job as a teacher in one senior high school in Pekanbaru, Sumatra Island. She fulfilled her parent request to continue their tofu factory located at Cipinang Muara, Duren Sawit- East Jakarta. Even though she inherited a bankrupt factory, it did not dampen her spirit to expand this factory.

Aiming to revitalize her factory, Eti injected capital that she obtained from selling her jewelry. With the assistance of four workers, the factory started running its production by processing 70 kg soybean. That tofu fabric was growing gradually. In 2004, for the first time, Eti got a loan from Bank Rakyat Indonesia for amount 10 million rupiah. Eti ever faced a bitter experience in partnership with a commercial bank. That is why she always reluctant to work with a bank. However, a good cooperation with BRI has caused her to forget her past experience.

In doing her business, Eti has run a partnership with tofu retailers. As the owner of the tofu factory, Eti  has responsibilities to provide production utilities and soybean. Meanwhile, the tofu retailers have responsibilities to buy the soybeans from her which then utilizing Eti’s factory  to produce  tofu. After all, those retailers sell their   tofu to customers and manage their own money. This partnership has benefited all parties. Eti earns money from selling the soybean, meanwhile the tofu retailers are able to produce tofu on their own by utilizing Eti’s production facilities for free and earn money from selling tofu. “Without the factory, the tofu retailers would not be able to sell tofu. Without the tofu retailers, the owner would not be able to earn money”, Eti says. She has  also implemented family relationship with her tofu retailers. Therefore, she provides housing for her tofu retailers at her factory. ” If we treat our partner as our own family, they would not leave us when we stumble” , Eti said.

Eti never misused BRI trust. She always pays her installment on time. As her business is growing well ,BRI is more confident to Eti’s capabilities in managing her business. This confidence is proven by increasing the amount of her loan every year based on the business progress. Currently, Eti got loan 100 million rupiah from BRI and the factory  has been able to process almost 1700 kg soybeans each day by working with 80 tofu retailers. Her success didn’t come suddenly. Eti has been through long and winding road. She was so desperate when her factory was ever destroyed by a heavy flooding.  “Thanks to BRI, the loan not only helped me to expand my business but also helped me to survive when I faced difficult times to rebuild my factory”, Eti said.