KINETIK Sweef Interns Case Study Series - Ashley

Tell us a bit about your background and interests. 

My name is Ashley Anadea Purnama, and I’m a final-year Architecture student at Universitas Indonesia, currently on an exchange program at Deakin University. Beyond architecture, I’m passionate about communications and design because I enjoy finding creative ways to connect with people, share stories, and build meaningful impact. 

In past roles, I’ve enjoyed learning through hands-on projects. At ReservoAir, I strengthened my research and analysis skills by benchmarking eco-friendly water management products, and at the Central Bank of Indonesia, I created digital content and branding strategies that taught me how to deliver clear and impactful messages. I also led communications at ShARE Universitas Indonesia, where I worked with a team to grow our audience and run events that encouraged inclusivity and collaboration. 

I’m proficient with tools like Canva, Photoshop, and Figma, and I enjoy exploring new platforms to keep learning. My experiences at 5P Foundation, HerPathways and Deakin’s Gender Globalisation and Development Coursework have also shaped my commitment to gender equality, which is one of the reasons I’m particularly inspired by Sweef Capital’s mission. 

 

What made you join the KINETIK Sweef internship, and how did your background and interests connect to its mission? 

I see the KINETIK Sweef Entrepreneurs Program internship as a great way to combine those interests with my curiosity about sustainability and impact investing as another field for me to explore. Ultimately, I want to be part of a firm where the work I do, be it writing, design, or organisational support, can make a real difference. Sweef Capital’s commitment to measurable improvements in resilience, opportunity, and inclusion, especially for women, is something I deeply admire. I would be proud to contribute to advancing that mission while continuing to grow as a professional. 

 

Can you describe a project or initiative you’ve worked on that supported gender equality or climate action within the Program? 

One of the key initiatives I worked on that supported gender equality and climate action within the internship was my involvement in building content for the Sweef Institute website. I was responsible for organising, writing, and designing the site, which allowed me to dive deeper into the stories of each Fellow company and think carefully about how to present their work. Many of these businesses sit at the intersection of sustainability, inclusive growth, and social impact, and working closely with their narratives helped me better understand how gender equality and climate action are often deeply connected. 

As part of this work, I also transferred the Gender ROI™ and Procurement Insights articles from Sweef Capital’s website to the new Sweef Institute platform, while creating new visuals to support the content. Through this contribution, I was able to bring this knowledge in a more accessible way to the entrepreneurs in the KINETIK Sweef Entrepreneurship Program and to the wider public. This allows the Program to demonstrate how gender inclusive investment and gender responsive business practices can create real opportunities for women. Being able to support this kind of impact driven education through hands on content work made the experience especially meaningful to me. 

 

What hands-on experiences or mentorship at the Program have been most influential for your professional growth (or your favourite experience! You can describe the work culture, interactions with mentors, supervisors, colleagues, other interns here etc)? 

I’ve noticed a steady evolution in the kinds of tasks I was given as my time here progressed, which helped me ease into the role in a way that felt both manageable and enjoyable. Idelle’s clear and straightforward approach to task delegation, combined with the team’s open-armed support and guidance, helped me keep up with Sweef’s fast pace by accelerating my own. 

One of my favourite aspects of working here has been the people. Because the team is based across different countries, I do not get to meet everyone regularly, so whenever colleagues visit Indonesia it becomes a real highlight! I always enjoy conversations about our different cultures and perspectives, especially when they relate to the stories we are telling through our communications work. Those interactions have given me a lot of inspiration and helped broaden my perspective. 

I’ve also loved spending time with the Indonesia-based team. They’ve been a reliable source of advice and support whenever I need local context or simply someone to talk things through with. Overall, the team is filled with supportive and immensely intelligent people, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to learn from them. 

Beyond the people, I have also enjoyed being exposed to such a broad range of experiences. From my day-to-day communications work to attending events, meeting founders, visiting portfolio companies, and supporting projects across different areas, every experience has given me the chance to learn something new and continue growing. 

 

Could you share an example when you tackled a challenge, and how guidance from your mentors or peers shaped your response? 

Sweef’s environment is fast-paced, and one challenge I encountered was learning how to manage a growing range of responsibilities while maintaining the quality of my work. As my role evolved, I found myself juggling multiple tasks, often with tight deadlines and shifting priorities.

What helped me most was the guidance and trust I received from Idelle, Bri, and the wider team. Through regular feedback and encouragement, I learned how to structure my priorities, communicate proactively, and break larger tasks into manageable steps. One practical habit that emerged from this was using task trackers and reminders to organise my workload. Developing my own system for tracking deadlines and priorities helped me stay on top of multiple projects at once and prevented things from slipping through the cracks.

The team was also always willing to answer questions and provide clarity whenever I needed it, which gave me the confidence to take on new responsibilities. That experience taught me to work more effectively in a dynamic environment, stay organised, and adapt quickly.

 

In what ways has the internship changed your perspective or readiness to pursue opportunities in entrepreneurship or impact investing? 

Coming from an arts background, this internship has significantly expanded my understanding of impact investing and entrepreneurship. I was introduced to the fundamentals of how impact investments work, which helped demystify a field that once felt distant from my own experience. Through the Program, I also gained a deeper perspective on the role and potential of women in entrepreneurship, especially within impact driven ecosystems. 

Beyond the technical knowledge, the internship has shifted how I think about the kind of work I want to pursue moving forward. Being involved in impact driven initiatives has been deeply fulfilling and has reinforced my commitment to doing good through any work I take on in the future. It has made opportunities in entrepreneurship and impact investing feel both more accessible and aligned with my personal values and goals. 

 

How do you plan to use skills and knowledge gained at the Program in your next career steps or future entrepreneurial pursuits? 

Working in a team that aims to create positive impact has strengthened my desire to continue this kind of work. I plan to continue improving my communications and graphic design skills to tell stories that promote inclusion and equality. I want to use these skills to support projects that make a difference in creating a better world. 

 

Fun question! If the KINETIK Sweef internship was a nasi padang order, what would it be and why? 

To me, the  KINETIK Sweef Entrepreneurs Program is like nasi ayam gulai. On the surface, it looks like familiar, simple comfort food, but it hits you with unexpected complexity once you taste it a little longer. It’s just like how the work here comes across first as structured and disciplined, but after sitting with it for a while longer, you find that beyond structure, it is immersed in the principles of impact, a unique gender lens, and big ambitions to make the world a better place.

 

What motivated you to move from intern to a full-time role at Sweef Capital? 

I’ve always known that I wanted to work somewhere I could do good. Having spent six months as an intern at Sweef Capital, I found that making impact is something that can actually be measured and managed, and that I could even play a part in creating that impact through my work with Sweef and our portfolio companies. That realisation has made it an incredibly rewarding learning experience. 

I’ve also had the chance to connect with colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds, from MBA graduates, branding and design professionals,writers, and many others. Being surrounded by people with such different areas of expertise has broadened my perspective, expanded my network, and given me the opportunity to learn closely from their insights and guidance. 

The positive and supportive working environment pushes me to grow in ways that are challenging, but never unpleasant. Working at Sweef and spending time with people from diverse cultures and disciplines who are reliable, supportive, and immensely intelligent brings me a lot of joy and inspiration. They motivate me to keep pushing myself to learn, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from them every day. 

Ultimately, working at this firm has given me the chance to touch on a broad range of tasks. I’ve written communications pieces, designed learning briefs, attended Sweef events as a photographer, contributed to videography work, and met with founders – heard their stories firsthand – then translated those stories into writing. I’ve also visited an ice cream factory, supported branding projects, and even architecture-related work. This dynamic environment constantly pushes me outside my comfort zone. For me, moving into a full-time role means taking on more challenges, and with that, more opportunities to learn, grow, and create meaningful impact. 

 

How did your internship experience at Sweef Capital support this transition, and what aspects were most transformative? 

My internship with Sweef Capital gradually exposed me to a wide range of tasks and experiences, which allowed me to step outside my comfort zone and grow at a rapid pace. Rather than being thrown into unfamiliar responsibilities all at once, I was given opportunities to learn progressively, building both my skills and confidence over time. 

Transitioning into a full-time role has meant that my responsibilities have evolved. I have been given a broader view of the firm’s inner workings, as well as a greater sense of ownership over my work. At the same time, because that gradual exposure and trust had already been established throughout my internship, the transition has felt less like a sudden change and more like a natural expansion of my role. 

What was most transformative was being trusted with increasingly diverse opportunities and responsibilities. It pushed me to adapt, learn quickly, and become more confident in my decision making. Looking back, the internship prepared me for a full-time role by giving me the foundation to grow into one. 

 

What is one piece of advice you would share with Sweef Capital interns who are hoping to move into a permanent role? 

Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and try new things! Being in such a dynamic environment pushed me to grow in ways that I did not initially expect, and many of the most rewarding experiences came from saying yes to opportunities that felt unfamiliar at first. 

At the same time, be brave enough to ask questions. One thing I quickly learned at Sweef is that everyone is approachable, regardless of their role within the firm. There is no such thing as overcommunicating, in my opinion. Being transparent about what you do and do not understand, and having the confidence to seek clarification, helps you produce your best work and makes collaboration much smoother for everyone involved. 

I would also highly recommend developing a habit of self-structuring. Using task trackers, reminders, and personal systems to organise my work has helped me stay on top of deadlines, prioritise effectively, and prevent myself from teetering into chaos. When you are exposed to a wide variety of projects, staying organised becomes incredibly important. 

Finally, take the initiative to learn about the things happening around you. Whether it is VC terminology, IMM frameworks, or the work being done by different teams, a little curiosity goes a long way. The more I invested in understanding the broader context of the work at Sweef, the more confident and effective I became in my own role.