Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia has a great opportunity for commodity exports of coffee, apparel and halal (permissible) products among others to the United States (U.S.), particularly the state of Texas, an Indonesian businessman said.

Speaking at the 137th World Online Gathering forum in Jakarta on Sunday (Oct. 16), Dadan Pahlawan, CEO/President Director of 4848 Group (an Indonesian shuttle transportation company) said that a number of large companies and factories are located in Texas, which is the second largest state in the U.S.

"With the presence of large companies such as Tesla, Apple, Dell, Intel, Oracle, IBM which are engaged in computers and IT, coupled with the relocation of Google and Facebook, automatically the need for commodities such as coffee and garments from Indonesia increases," Dadan noted.

Dadan, who is currently in Austin, Texas, shared his experience of how he makes 4848 Group go international to more than 150 webinar participants from Indonesia and abroad.

He also received inputs from the Indonesian Embassy and a number of Indonesian Consulate Generals in the United States as well as Indonesian citizens who work or/and study in the U.S.

Dadan, who visited Austin, Texas, and met with a number of Indonesian citizens in a regular forum of learning Islam, is also scheduled to give lectures at several state universities and explore opportunities to open businesses there.

"I was invited to speak at the University of Texas, Arlington, and Clayton States University, Atlanta, this October," Dadan said, adding that Indonesian citizens including students are the nation's ambassadors and are the eyes and ears of their country.

He also believes that halal products from Indonesia can be exported to the U.S., which has a high market potential, and can compete with products from Malaysia, for example.

"Indonesia must be at the forefront as a producer of halal products for exports," he said.

In addition, halal products are consumed not only by Muslims but also by Jews, including those in Manhattan, New York.

Dadan also observes that the number of U.S. citizens who are Muslims is on the rise as indicated by the increasing number of mosques in the U.S.

A number of leading state universities in the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia have invited Dadan, as they are interested in the transformation of the 4848 Group, making the family business entity go international.

According to the master from the department of international business at a university in San Diego, the U.S.A., foreign markets could be an alternative to deal with increasingly fierce business competition in Indonesia.

In many countries, including Indonesia, family businesses have proven to be ‘engines’ of the economic growth as they create jobs and play key roles in the economic development.

With a professional touch, 4848 Group has become a modern family company, and has businesses in several countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S.

4848 Group, whose services are widely used by world-class companies, also runs other businesses in the fields of airport telecommunications and technology (IT), Umrah (minor hajj)/Hajj, property, dredging contractors, business consultants, boat rental, plantations and agriculture.

Before expanding his company, Dadan was a friend with, among other figures, Prof. Alex Lara, a U.S. citizen who has been a leader in international companies, such as JP. Morgan and later became a professor at the University of Huston Texas.

Likewise, Dadan is a friend with DR. Chacko from Clayton University. With his friend's network, Dadan was invited to lecture in front of students and lecturers at various state universities.

Academics acknowledge the success of the 62-year-old Indonesian national company.

Dadan, who has been a speaker on Cross Border Financing and Entrepreneur Leadership, was a guest lecturer at Loughborough University in London, England, to share his views and experiences on entrepreneurial leadership in family businesses.

When he was a speaker at the Sarajevo Business Forum (SBF) last May, he spoke about the government-private business partnership in an effort to recover the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his presentation, not only did Dadan talk about the success of the family business but also the problems it faced and solutions.

The ability to understand international business, finance and public relations is a skill and knowledge he acquired from his workers.

Al Faisal University's College of Business in Riyadh also invited Dadan last May as a guest lecturer, and later King Abdullah Economic City in Jeddah asked him to be an advisor.

4848 Group would focus on continuing the transformation business that has been carried out since 2004 as the management sees that transportation services in the future would experience many challenges both in terms of regulations, business conditions, traffic jams and global competition.

4848 Group, which was established on Aug. 4, 1959 by Irawan Sarpingi, started the business with an urban taxi service, and this expedition service operator became the forerunner of taxi companies in Indonesia.

Reporting by Indonesia Window