KINETIK Sweef Interns Case Study Series - Nicolas

Tell us a bit about your background and interests. 

I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting at Universitas Indonesia. My academic journey has revolved around finance, accounting, and business. At present, my goal is to begin my career in finance or consulting, and possibly own a business myself as an entrepreneur at a later stage. 

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

I joined the internship mainly because I saw it as an opportunity to experience how impact investing principles are applied. Personally, I thought that being a part of the Program would be a good learning experience for me. What I found most exciting was the chance to meet and work with startups that put in effort to build a particular solution that improves the lives of many. 

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

During my time at the Program, I supported projects focused on identifying and strengthening enterprises with clear gender and climate impact potential. One key initiative involved developing and refining an internal learning platform designed to help the partners deepen their understanding of entrepreneurship. 

How do your contributions help advance the Program’s goals around gender and climate? 

My work on the external learning platform focused on identifying gaps and recommending improvements to create a smoother and more effective learning experience for KINETIK Sweef Fellows. This contributes to the Program’s broader goal of cultivating leaders who are more aware of and responsive to gender and climate considerations. 

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)? 

The most valuable aspect of my internship experience was the mentorship that I received from my supervisor. I had the chance to work closely with my mentors, who are both knowledgeable and genuinely invested in my personal growth. Their feedback and willingness to share made even casual discussions important learning opportunities for me. 

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

A specific case that comes to mind is the process of discussing companies in the running to become Fellows. The discussion strikes a balance between supporting companies in their present state, and seeking ways to challenge them further. Everyone in the team encourages curiosity and critical thinking, to think further than what we can see on the surface. The experience strengthened the analytical mindset that I will definitely carry into my future endeavours. 

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

The internship has opened my understanding of how entrepreneurship and impact investing operate. Previously, I thought that a business should only focus on financial metrics, with the goal being to generate as much as profit as possible. However, through this internship, I have gained a new view on how businesses are assessed not only financially, but also for their potential to make a good impact to its society. This experience has made me more confident in navigating conversations around entrepreneurship or impact investing. 

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

I plan to use the skills I developed as a foundation for my next steps in my career journey. The internship trained me to look at businesses with a broader perspective, considering not just financial performance, but also the social and environmental value they can create. Whether I am working in a firm or build something of my own, the perspectives I gained at the Program will guide how I approach problems, make decisions, and design solutions with long-term impact in mind. 

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

The KINETIK Sweef internship would definitely be ayam pop. It looks simple at first glance, but once you understand how it’s made, from its unusual cooking method to its unexpected flavour, you realise there’s a lot more depth beneath what we see on the surface. Ayam pop was created through a creative reimagination of traditional cooking techniques. In the same way, the Program takes familiar concepts, like entrepreneurship, gender equality, and climate action, then reimagines them with fresh perspectives and innovative frameworks.