Asia Honorary Advisers
Helianti Hilman
Asia Honorary Adviser, Indonesia
Helianti Hilman is the founder of Javara, an Indonesian social enterprise dedicated to preserving the nation’s food biodiversity and indigenous food culture by introducing them to global markets.
In 2017, Helianti established Seniman Pangan, a vocational center aimed at fostering food entrepreneurship among youth, women, and indigenous communities. Collectively, these initiatives have empowered tens of thousands of farmers, foragers, fishers, and food artisans across Indonesia, resulting in the production of over 1,000 artisanal food products; offering origin-specific, gastro-cultural experiences that showcase Indonesia’s bio-cultural wealth.
Helianti’s impactful work has garnered numerous accolades. In 2013, she was named Ernst & Young Indonesia’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year. She was honored as a Social Entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation in 2015 and by the Skoll Foundation in 2023.
Her initiatives have been featured by international media outlets, including Channel News Asia, DW TV, NHK, Arirang TV, The Guardian, and The Bangkok Post. In 2019, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) selected Helianti as one of seven “eTrade for Women Advocates.” In 2024, she delivered a TED Talk titled “The foods humanity forgot” at the TED Countdown Dilemma Series: The future of food.
Ms. Hilman has been involved in the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative both as a participant and a host. In 2017, the Foundation invited her to New Zealand to be a keynote speaker at the Social Enterprise World Forum in Christchurch.
Helianti holds a Master’s degree in Intellectual Property Law from King’s College London