UNAIR NEWS – The “Markas Walet” company owned by  Universitas Airlangga alumni (UNAIR) is ready to launch agritech and edutech-based app. The founder of the company and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Markas Walet, Muhammad Fairuzzuddin Zuhair or Fairuz, revealed that this app would help increase the success of swiftlet cultivation in Indonesia.
“This app is for the swiftlet nest industry to help swiftlet farmers in Indonesia,” said UNAIR Mathematics alumnus on Tuesday, September 20, 2022.
Fairuz continued that the app will be equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of a swiftlet population counter using the deep learning method. Deep learning is a learning computer that directly classifies images or swiftlet sounds. The method is believed to be able to provide final quality results and can reduce operational costs.
Fairuz said this app is the first real-time swiftlet counter tool. He continued that it would also help the government in mapping the potential and behavior of swiftlets scientifically. So far, according to Fairuz, the development of swiftlets in Indonesia has only been guided by folklore or heritage passed down from generation to generation.
“Our group can be a pioneer for the transition of folklore to scientific, ” added Fairuz.
Furthermore, continued Fairuz, with the app, which will be launched in October 2022, practitioners and academics from various leading universities will find it easy to collaborate. The collaboration is to present an integrated learning system for swiftlet cultivation.
“With that, of course, it will help swiftlet farmers increase the selling value of swiftlet nests,” said Fairuz.
Markas Walet Company
Markas Walet (lit: Swiftlet Headquarter) is a company fostered by the Startup and Incubation Business Development Agency (BPBRIN) UNAIR. This company is engaged in the cultivation and washing of swiftlet nests. Furthermore, there are several business lines, such as food and drink from swiftlet nests, swiftlet perfume, swiftlet farm construction, swiftlet cultivation seminar, and four other business lines related to swiftlet.
The company, founded by the 2019 UNAIR outstanding graduate, is under the auspices of PT Lentera Alam Nusantara, which has been running since 2018. Fairuz admitted that he got the idea for this swiftlet business after passing the Pimnas (National Student Science Week) in 2018. At that time, he initiated digital software marketing; from there, Fairuz began to use his idea as a business component and started a business with the help of his closest friends.
“The majority of our team are BEM UNAIR alumni,” concluded the 2019 BEM UNAIR Vice President.
Author: Haryansyah Setiawan
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
