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Santi Mia Sipan is no ordinary woman. She has successfully juggled being both a homemaker and an entrepreneur.

Last year, she won the second annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women Award for her dedication in painstakingly building her sustainable teak plantation business, Jaty Arthamas Soegih.

Santi is not alone, though. Across the country, there are more than 40,000 women entrepreneurs who often find it difficult to secure financing from banks or face opposition from their spouses and families, but they nonetheless push ahead with the dream of starting their own business.

“All around the world, but especially in Indonesia, it is difficult for women to be successful because of cultural barriers, gender-specific barriers, access to financing, etc.,” said Giuseppe Nicolosi, chief executive of Ernst & Young Indonesia at the launch of this year’s award.

Global business services firm Ernst & Young is seeking nominations from women across the country by June 30, with the winner to be named in September.

Nicolosi said the EWW program was aimed at raising awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship in helping to develop the economy.

According to Nicolosi, even with growth at 6.1 percent, the economy will not be able to accommodate an ever-growing labor market. Entrepreneurship, however, could help create jobs and provide people with livelihoods, he said.

The EWW award, he said, also helped raise the profile of women entrepreneurs, especially with securing funding from banks.

Since winning the award, Santi has seen her business double and found banks more willing to cater to her, for example.

As a result, she is planning to expand her 1,000-hectare plantation in Jonngol, West Java, and is eyeing more land in Sulawesi. “We have to be brave in starting a business, but the rewards are great,” she said.

Petty Fatimah, editor-in-chief of Femina magazine, which supports the EWW program, said female entrepreneurs often lacked knowledge about business and finance.

Femina magazine’s publisher, Femina Group, under its Wanita Wirausaha (Entrepreneurial Women) program, hopes to provide women with the necessary business skills to be successful.

“We found women often lack the nerve to approach banks, or knowledge on how to access financing,” Petty said. “We help them by running workshops and courses on these subjects.”

Sharon Loreta Olich, program coordinator for Ernst & Young, said Indonesia was the first country outside the United States to host the EWW program.

“Last year, we had 25 nominees, which was beyond our expectations. The US, in their first year of EWW, only had 13 nominees,” she said, adding that Ernst & Young expected to have about 50 nominees this year.

Nominees must have founded or co-founded privately held Indonesian companies that have operated for at least five years and have Rp 10 billion ($1.15 million) in revenue in the past two years. Firms with revenue below Rp 10 billion but have shown significant growth in the last two years will be considered.

The winner will have the chance to participate in programs to expand her skills, identify strategic alliances and boost her business’s visibility nationally.

Globe Media Group, with which the Jakarta Globe is affiliated, is the media partner of the event.