Jakarta, IO – Her name is Kalya Mahiya. She is only 13 years old but her achievements are truly amazing. The whiz kid is the winner of Mathematics and English Olympiad. She masters three foreign languages and dozens of Indonesian traditional dances.
She even possesses an entrepreneurial spirit at such a tender age. She founded a banana chips business called KRIPI. The brand is the acronym of Klangenan (favorite), Roso (taste), Impen (dream), Praveena and Indonesia.
“My hope is that KRIPI can realize people’s dreams and favorite taste for Indonesian food,” she explained.
KRIPI originated from Kalya’s desire to help housewives. “Because of the pandemic, I want to help women whose husbands died from Covid-19 and suddenly had to become the family’s breadwinner,” she said.
KRIPI has three variants – chocolate, original sweet and balado. “The best-selling variant among lovers of banana chips is the sweet original one. The taste of the bananas is still authentic, especially when we use good quality jackfruit bananas,” she said.
KRIPI is not the only business Kalya has built. Most recently, her concern for the environment and the creative economy has encouraged her to set up Praveena. This venture coincided with her 13th birthday on October 1.
“It started from my passion to grow the creative economy where there is potential for ecoprints that can be developed, as well a means of learning for me. I want to tell the story of leaves that are around us to give meaningful meaning to artistic creativity and love for the earth. Moreover, this product is handmade and environmentally friendly,” she enthused.