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In a battle for prestige as well as stronger political and business networks, four businessmen are vying for the position of chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association in a two-day meeting starting today in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi.

Harry Warganegara, Priamanaya Djan, Erik Hidayat and Raja Sapta Oktohari are taking part in a national forum held by the association, known as Hipmi, to lead the group, which was established in 1972 to promote entrepreneurship in the country.

“The new Hipmi chairman should have good networks and be accepted by many institutions. … He should be able to lead and build networks,” said Aviliani, an economist at the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) and the secretary of the National Economic Committee (KEN), a group of prominent businesspeople and economists that advises President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on economic policy.

The association now represents more than 40,000 business owners, the majority of whom operate small- to medium-sized enterprises. It is holding a national summit on Monday and Tuesday to elect its new leader.

Founded by some of Indonesia’s most successful businesspeople, including Abdul Latief, Siswono Yudo Husodo and Pontjo Sutowo, the association has produced a number of well-known business leaders.

Some of the bigger names that have been part of the association are Sandiaga Uno, co-founder of Saratoga Capital; Muhammad Lutfi, the former chairman of the Investment Coordinating Coard (BKPM); and Aburizal Bakrie, an influential politician who owns a diversified business conglomerate through the Bakrie Group.

“I want to make Hipmi a powerful association for lobbying. Hipmi must bridge the need of new entrepreneurs to get access to financing,” said Harry, one of the candidates.

Harry is the president director and CEO of Sulbar Group, a regional state-owned company with businesses in logistics and energy in West Sumatra.

Priamanaya , the CEO of Priamanaya Group, is promoting a program called “incubator,” which is a deal with Hipmi’s 33 regional representatives to open outlets in Tanah Abang, the biggest textile wholesale market in Southeast Asia.

Priamanaya has businesses in energy, property and mining. He is the son of Djan Faridz, a businessman with experience in the electricity sector. The group owns two blocks in Tanah Abang, located in Central Jakarta. About 13,000 tenants occupy the blocks, which amount to 3.2 hectares of building space.

Erik promoted an idea to create a comprehensive database to enable Hipmi members to buy and sell products to each other. He also suggested Hipmi grow itself into a guarantor for bank loans for its SME members.

Erik is the son of MS Hidayat, the industry minister.

Raja pledged to continue Erwin Aksa’s “coaching clinic,” which nurtures college students to become entrepreneurs.

Okto, as his friend call him, is the son of Oesman Sapta Odang, a former lawmaker who is head of the advisory council to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Okto is also a well known boxing and artist promoter. Janet Jackson and Justin Bieber are among the artists he has brought to Indonesia. He has also been successful in promoting boxing matches, including Chris John versus Daud Yordan.