Nusantara Economic Hero Social Assistance Program as an Effort to Empower the Community in Kendari City

This research aims to find out the implementation and achievements of the Nusantara Economic Hero Social Assistance Program realized in Kendari City. The method used in this study is a qualitative descriptive method. The informants in this study were determined based on the Purposive Sampling technique. The data collection technique was carried out through interviews with the Coordinator of the Family Hope Program of the Kendari City Social Service, Social Assistants, and Beneficiaries of the Social Assistance Program of the Nusantara Economic Heroes, then the data was obtained through observation and docuemnation studies, the data obtained was then analyzed qualitatively with an interactive model consisting of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawn. The results of this study show that: 1) there are two categories of Nusantara Economic Heroes carried out in Kendari City, namely Regular Nusantara Economic Heroes and Independent Nusantara Economic Heroes; 2) the stages of empowerment of the Nusantara Economic Heroes in Kendari City are in accordance with the concept of empowerment stages proposed by Adi (2014) which consists of the Preparation Stage, Assessment Stage, Alternative Planning Stage of Programs or Activities, Action Plan Formulation Stage, Program Implementation Stage or Activity, Evaluation Stage, and Termination Stage; 3) the achievements of the Nusantara Economic Heroes program in Kendari City have been able to empower the beneficiaries, although there are still some beneficiaries who have not been able to maximize financial assistance from the Nusantara Economic Heroes.


INTRODUCTION
Poverty is a form of social problem that continues to occur today.Poverty is characterized by the low quality of life of the population, limited food sufficiency and quality, and low quality of education and health services.Therefore, so far many efforts have been made in order to reduce poverty that occurs by providing food, education and health needs, as well as expanding job opportunities and so on.Poverty according to Soerjono Soekanto is defined as a condition when a person is unable to take care of himself so that he can be comparable to the standard of living of the group and is unable to utilize his mental and physical energy in the group (Senewe et al., 2021).
In Indonesia, many efforts have been made to overcome the problem of poverty that occurs, one of which is through community empowerment.Community empowerment has been widely chosen to be one of the alternative solutions to a problem, without exception in efforts to alleviate poverty problems (Putri & Prabawati, 2022).Community empowerment is one of the wise strategies that can be done to maximize the potential that exists in the community.In Indonesia, various empowerment actions have been carried out.This is a form of government responsibility that aims to create a prosperous and prosperous society.
Ife in Suharto (2014) stated "Empowerment is a process of helping disadvantaged groups and individuals to compete more effectively with other interests, by helping them to learn and use in lobbying, using the media, engaging in political action, understanding how to 'work the system,' and so on".From the definition above, it can be understood that the concept of empowerment is an effort to give autonomy, authority, and trust to each individual in the organization, as well as to motivate them to be more creative in completing their work well.
Kendari City, which is the location of this research, has carried out various empowerment programs/activities for the community related to reducing poverty that occurs.
The programs in question include the Family Income Improvement Business Program (UP2K), the District and Village Community Empowerment Program (P2MK), and the Empowerment of Poor Fishermen.And from several of these empowerment programs, it has had a positive influence on the people of Kendari City.
Not only limited to the programs mentioned earlier, Kendari City has also implemented an empowerment program from the ministry of social affairs, namely the Nusantara Economic Hero Program .Nusantara Economic Hero Program is an innovative program from the government where this program is carried out with a community empowerment approach.This program was first initiated by the Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mrs. Tri Rismaharini who previously served as the Mayor of Surabaya for two terms from 2010 to 2020.When she served as mayor, Mrs. Risma named this program as Economic Heroes and Young Fighters.Furthermore, after serving as the minister of social affairs in Joko Widodo's cabinet, this program was then adopted into a national program under the name of Heroes of the Nusantara Economy which began to be realized from the end of the year (December) 2022.
In Permensos No. 7 of 2023 concerning the Nusantara Economic Hero Program, the PENA Program is defined as an activity to build an entrepreneurial spirit, improve the entrepreneurial ability of poor families, vulnerable groups, remote groups, and/or disaster victims.Referring to these regulations and Technical Instructions (JUKNIS), the Nusantara Economic Hero Program Program has the following objectives: 1. Increase the income of Beneficiary Families (KPM) for family welfare; 2. Improving the socio-economic ability of Beneficiary Families in an independent manner.
3. The screening of KPM who really need social assistance with those who do not.
The Nusantara Economic Hero Program program is also a program that can be referred to as Social Assistance.In this assistance, the beneficiaries are not only given monetary capital to meet their needs, but also given other capital in the form of equipment to run a business and knowledge in the form of knowledge and skills needed to run a business.So, in the end, the beneficiaries of this program are expected to have independence to support their economic needs.
On the other hand, the Nusantara Economic Heroes program is also a continuation of the previous social assistance.The beneficiaries are those whose names are registered in the Integrated Social Welfare Data of the Ministry of Social Affairs and are prioritized for active social assistance recipients such as PKH and Integrated Prosperous Houses.Furthermore, this assistance is also prioritized for people with a productive age range, namely 20 to 40 years.
What makes this program more interesting than other programs is that beneficiaries who are willing to receive this assistance will also be willing to graduate (out of social assistance/not become social assistance recipients) if the beneficiaries are considered to have really been economically able to meet their needs on a sustainable basis.From this, the author assumes that the PENA program has been implemented well and is able to empower the community.To test the truth or prove it, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on this program.

METHODS
This research was conducted in Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi Province.The research conducted is a type of descriptive research using a qualitative approach, where the author describes the state of the subject or object according to the results of observations and interviews that have been conducted.Furthermore, the author provides a concrete argument for the facts obtained in the field, then associated with concepts that are related to the problem being researched.An informant is a subject who provides data related to information or information to the researcher.Furthermore, research informants are people who are used to provide information about the situation and conditions of the research background (Moleong, 2014).In this study, the determination of informants was carried out using the Purposive Sampling technique, where the sample was determined with certain considerations because the researcher considered that the informant was someone who knew the most information needed.The informants of this research are the Coordinator of the Family Hope Program of the Kendari City Social Service, the Program Social Assistant, and the Beneficiaries of the Nusantara Economic Hero Program.The types of data used in this study are qualitative data and quantitative data, where qualitative data can be understood as information in the form of descriptions that cannot be measured by numbers.Meanwhile, quantitative data itself is a set of information that can be measured, calculated and compared on a numerical scale.In addition, the source of data in this study is Primary Data obtained directly in the field with in-depth interviews and observations with research subjects, as well as Secondary Data in the form of literature research and documentation.Furthermore, the data was analyzed using the opinion of Sugiyono (2014), namely, Data Reduction, Data Presentation, and Drawing Conclusions and Verification.

Forms of the Nusantara Economic Heroes Social Assistance Program in Kendari City
Basically, the Nusantara Economic Hero Assistance in Kendari City has been implemented since the end of 2022 and will continue in 2023.In its implementation, the assistance of the Nusantara Economic Heroes in Kendari City consists of two categories of Nusantara Economic Heroes, namely Regular Nusantara Economic Heroes and Independent Nusantara Economic Heroes.

Regular Nusantara Economic Heroes
The Regular Nusantara Economic Heroes Social Assistance Program is a type of social assistance as business capital given to the community where the determination of beneficiaries is determined and determined by the ministry of social affairs based on the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS).The implementation of Regular Nusantara Economic Hero in Kendari City was carried out in December 2022.In practice, this Regular Nusantara Economic Hero Assistance only consists of one disbursement of budget/funds.The implementation of Regular Nusantara Economic Hero assistance which will be carried out in 2022 in Kendari City is one of the first implementations of Nusantara Economic Hero assistance which is carried out in several cities in Indonesia, where Kendari City and Bau-Bau City are two cities in Southeast Sulawesi Province where Nusantara Economic Hero assistance from the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs is implemented.The amount of assistance funds received by KPM in the Regular PENA is Rp.6,000,000,-consisting of Rp. 5,500,000,-for business equipment assistance and Rp.500,000,-for capital participation.The implementation of Regular Nusantara Economic Hero in Kendari City is actually only carried out at the end of 2022, namely in December.In its implementation, the number of beneficiaries who received financial assistance from the Nusantara Economic Hero Program was 15 KPM.This was conveyed directly by the Family Hope Program Coordinator of the Kendari City Social Service.

Independent Nusantara Economic Heroes
The Independent Nusantara Economic Heroes Social Assistance Program is a type of social assistance as business capital given to the community, where the determination of beneficiaries is of their own volition which is then recommended by the local government and then awaits the decision of the Ministry of Social Affairs.Beneficiaries for Nusantara Economic Hero Berdikari in Kendari City received capital assistance of Rp. 2,400,000.-whichwas given in the form of business equipment.However, before equipment assistance is given, beneficiaries first take part in business education and training in accordance with the business that will be carried out later.Nusantara Economic Hero Independent itself will be realized in 2023.In its realization, the total beneficiaries for this program are 18 KPM in Kendari City spread across several sub-districts.Nusantara Economic Hero Social Assistance in Kendari City is organized by Regular PENA and Independent Nusantara Economic Hero.The two categories of Nusantara Economic Hero each have slight differences in their realization.This difference can be seen from the determination of the KPM regardless of the amount of financial assistance received.And for the Regular PENA in Kendari City will be held at the end of 2022 with a total of 15 KPM, while the Independent Nusantara Economic Hero will be held in 2023, namely in May and November with a total of 18 KPM.Regular Nusantara Economic Hero will only be held in 2022 and no longer in 2023 where only Independent Nusantara Economic Hero will be held in 2023.

Stages of Empowerment in the Social Assistance Program for Nusantara Economic Heroes in Kendari City
Some of the stages of empowerment in the Nusantara Economic Hero program will be described by mangacu on the concept of empowerment stages proposed by Adi (2014) which consists of:

Preparation Stage
The preparation stage is the earliest stage carried out from the implementation of assistance for both Regular Nusantara Economic Hero and Independent Nusantara Economic Hero.At this stage of preparation, the first thing to do is to ensure that the names of prospective recipients of Nusantara Economic Hero assistance already exist or have received data on the names of KPM Nusantara Economic Hero issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
However, there are differences in the submission of the names of KPM candidates for each Nusantara Economic Hero category.For Regular Nusantara Economic Hero, the data on the names of KPM candidates is determined directly by the Ministry of Social Affairs based on the Integrated Social Welfare Data which is then sent directly to the City Social Service which is the implementing agency of the program in each region.
For KPM for Nusantara Economic Hero Independent is determined based on the will of the previous KPM social assistance.Which social companion when conducting monitoring and evaluation at KPM PKH, BPNT, or RST, he also socializes or conveys to the KPM about business capital assistance from Nusantara Economic Hero but with the consequence is willing to leave the KPM social assistance received at that time.This is not coercive, but on the voluntary willingness of the KPM.

Assessment Stage
Assessment is one of the crucial stages that is very important to be carried out in verifying the data of KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates.In the process, this assessment is carried out by social assistants after obtaining the names of KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates from the relevant Social Service.At the second assessment stage of the Nusantara Economic Hero category in Kendari City, there was actually no material that had such an impact between the two.Social companions at this stage will carry out field verification or also known as field validation.Field validation is an action that aims to ensure that the names of KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates from the previous stage are actually in the field.After confirming that the names of the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates are real, the social assistant then validates in accordance with the terms or criteria of KPM Nusantara Economic Hero, such as the age must not be more than 40 years old, is a recipient of social assistance, has a business, and is willing to leave the KPM social assistance received previously.
At this assessment stage, to ensure that prospective KPM Nusantara Economic Hero wants or is willing to voluntarily leave the previous member of the social assistance recipient, there is a document that must be signed.The document in question is a statement letter containing the willingness of the KPM to become a KPM Nusantara Economic Hero and will be graduated from previous social assistance.

Program Alternative Planning Stage
It should be reunderstood that this concept means that social workers or in this case social assistants help KPM candidates to find alternatives that will be carried out if there are conditions where there are problems that arise in the implementation of activities later.In the implementation of empowerment carried out in the Nusantara Economic Hero Program, the results of observations and interviews from the author found that in the implementation of PENA in Kendari City, the alternative planning stage of this activity was also carried out for KPM PENA candidates.The author found that there was one KPM candidate from Nusantara Economic Hero Berdikari who had a problem so he planned an alternative to this activity.
Which, it has been known that the Nusantara Economic Hero Program is business capital assistance by providing most of the assistance for business equipment to prospective KPM.Related to the above, there is a case where one of the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates does not really need equipment assistance.This happened to the Kuwe Fish Cage Business (White Fish) owned by Mrs. Wayama in Bungkutoko Village.Mrs. Wayama is a candidate for KPM Nusantara Economic Hero Berdikari who has a livestock business category.After getting clarity about the assistance he would receive was business equipment assistance with a total of Rp. 2,400,000,-, he asked that the equipment assistance he would receive be used as fish seed assistance only.Because, he is very difficult in terms of capital for the procurement of fish seeds.In fact, he often owes money to fish seed suppliers.Therefore, the funds that Mrs. Wayama will receive will later be diverted to the purchase of fish seeds only.

Action Plan Formulation Stage
The action plan formulation stage can be understood as a situation where social assistants together with KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates jointly formulate actions to be carried out in writing.The formulation of this written action can be done by making a proposal, for example.In the implementation of Nusantara Economic Hero in Kendari City, the author found that the process of formulating this action plan was also carried out, namely by making a proposal to be submitted to the ministry of social affairs through the agency implementing the related activities, in this case the Social Service.There is no difference for each category of Nusantara Economic Hero in this stage or process.Both have the same process in formulating the needs of KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates.The proposal made contains details of goods or business equipment that will be purchased or spent later in accordance with the Nusantara Economic Hero funds that will be received.

Program or Activity Implementation Stage
The implementation stage is the most important or crucial stage in an empowerment program.In the Nusantara Economic Hero program implemented in Kendari City, the author analyzes that there are two things that are done in the implementation of the Nusantara Economic Hero Program in Kendari City.The author analyzes that there are training activities and there is also budget realization (expenditure on business needs).To better understand these two things, it will be described below:

a) Training Activities
There are training activities that are carried out before the budget or Nusantara Economic Hero funds are disbursed.KPM who have previously registered their names as KPM Nusantara Economic Hero must take part in online training through the Zoom application so that their Nusantara Economic Hero funds can be disbursed.KPM Nusantara Economic Hero, both Regular and Independent, will be directed to take part in business training according to the category of business they are doing.So, there are 5 types of business groupings in the Nusantara Economic Hero Program, namely food, handicrafts, services, agriculture, and livestock businesses.Each of these five business categories received different training.The training activities were carried out online/online for 4 days.The training is also adjusted to the business category run by KPM.KPM that has a food business category will take part in business training on food, KPM that has a livestock business will take training on livestock as well, and so on.For the training mentioned in the interview results above, such as product packaging and marketing are part of the training of several business categories at Nusantara Economic Hero.Like packaging training, for example, this type of training is certainly a type of training from the food business category.In which the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero was given training on how to package good products, both in terms of efficiency and cost and both in terms of the durability of the products sold.Furthermore, for marketing or marketing training, it can cover the entire business category.One of the forms of marketing training that has been and is temporarily carried out in the field is Mr. Hendri Haefar's Gas Balloon Business, which after receiving marketing training, his marketing methods have also increased.Which was initially only direct marketing, now it has also done online/online marketing through social media applications such as Facebook, so that it can further expand its marketing reach.It should be emphasized again that the trainings are carried out online, where KPM listen to the material and instructions delivered by the mentor through the Zoom Meeting application.

b) Budget Realization (Business Needs Expenditure)
The next process after the training process followed by KPM Nusantara Economic Hero is the disbursement of the budget in the form of improving business needs such as business equipment.So, in the process of spending business needs, the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero is accompanied directly by social assistants and a team from the Ministry of Social Affairs.
The expenditure of business equipment, both Regular Nusantara Economic Hero and Independent Nusantara Economic Hero, both adjusts to the amount of funds from the two PENAs.As is known, the Regular Nusantara Economic Hero fund is Rp.6,000,000,-while the Berdiakri PENA is Rp.2,400,000.At the stage of implementing the Nusantara Economic Hero Program in Kendari City, as explained above, it can be understood that there are two processes carried out, namely online training and disbursement of the budget for business expenses.
The management of business needs is accompanied directly by social assistants and a trusted team from the ministry of social affairs directly.Lestari and Prasetyanti (2024) Beneficiaries who have received social assistance for many years need to be reviewed to ensure that they can be free from dependence on social assistance.Those whose physical and psychological conditions are less than optimal and cannot make an effort to be eligible for sustainable social assistance in order to reduce the burden of expenses.To beneficiaries who are healthy, have business potential or already have a business start-up, Nusantara Economic Hero intends to help increase their income through improving business skills.

Evaluation Stage
The evaluation stage is a stage where an empowerment program can measure the change or impact it provides.In the Nusantara Economic Hero Program in Kendari City, the evaluation of Nusantara Economic Hero itself is actually carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs.However, to get KPM data to be evaluated, there is a process, namely Monitoring.This process is carried out by social companions through the Siksma Mobile application.On the Siksma Mobile application, all Social Companions each have an account.In the account, there are the names of KPM who are recipients of social assistance, both PKH, BPNT, Nusantara Economic Hero and so on.Here there is a difference in the monitoring period where the 2022 Regular KPM PENA is monitored every month, while the 2023 Independent KPM Nusantara Economic Hero is monitored only once, namely in March 2024.

Termination Stage
The termination stage is the most important stage used in ending client assistance activities or in this case, KPM Nusantara Economic Hero.The termination stage for KPM Nusantara Economic Hero is also called graduation.As a document in the form of a statement letter that has been signed at the beginning which states that after becoming a KPM Nusantara Economic Hero and receiving financial assistance from Nusantara Economic Hero, they are willing to graduate or no longer be a recipient of social assistance.For this reason, at this stage, the assistance will end for the receipt of social assistance from social companions.For this stage, in the assistance of KPM Nusantara Economic Hero in Kendari City, both Regular Nusantara Economic Hero and Independent Nusantara Economic Hero, both have similarities.Which social companions do not simply leave KPM Nusantara Economic Hero directly.However, with or slowly the social companion leaves the accompanying KPM.Related to the above, such as the example of a case submitted by Mrs. Asmawiya's social companion who terminated with Mrs. Wayama as KPM Nusantara Economic Hero Berdikari who was her assistant.He did it slowly by continuing to ask how the condition of the business carried out by Mrs. Wayama until now.Which, Mrs. Wayama is no longer a KPM of social assistance, but has become one of the former recipients of independent social assistance.

Achievements of the Nusantara Economic Hero Program in Kendari City
Based on the results of the research carried out, it shows that the achievements of the Nusantara Economic Heroes program in Kendari City are as follows:

Increasing the Income of Beneficiary Families for Family Welfare
Broadly speaking, the Nusantara Economic Hero program is certainly an empowerment program from the government that has an orientation in strengthening the community's economy, especially in increasing family income.This is certainly in line with one of Mardikanto's (2014) opinions about the purpose of community empowerment, namely Better Income.If the income from the community can be increased so that it is able to meet its needs, then efforts in realizing community welfare are inevitable.
Referring to the above, as well as the implementation of community empowerment through business capital assistance from Nusantara Economic Hero in Kendari City, it is expected to be able to increase the income of each beneficiary family (KPM).However, in its implementation, based on the results of observations and interviews in the field, the author found the fact that the capital assistance provided has had a good impact, especially in increasing the income of KPMs.However, there are also several KPM that have not been maximized in utilizing the capital assistance.
Nusantara Economic Hero assistance has had a positive impact on the community.
Which is not only financial assistance provided, training such as product marketing techniques are also provided.So, the products produced from business capital assistance from Nusantara Economic Hero can be maximized, not only offline sales but online sales also through social media can also be done.
In addition to the good impact above, there are also several KPM that have not been able to maximize capital injection assistance from PENA.As conveyed by one of the social companions, namely Mrs. Puspa Muda, S. Si., where out of a total of 8 KPM that she assisted, only 2 KPM are still running, one of which is the Gas Balloon Business from Mr. Hendri Haefar.Mrs. Puspa explained that the 6 KPM that have not been able to maximize Nusantara Economic Hero are due to the existence of KPM that have moved out of the city, the existence of damaged business equipment, the existence of KPM whose business tools are brought out of the city (brought to Morowali, Central Sulawesi).

Improving The Socio-Economic Ability Of Beneficiary Families Independently.
Family socioeconomic ability can be understood as a condition where the family has the ability to carry out economic activities, in this case, being able to run a business that can support the economy.It is different by increasing family income as mentioned in the previous PENA achievement indicator section, where the orientation of family income is the results or money obtained.Meanwhile, the indicator of improving the socio-economic ability of KPM independently is more oriented to the actions or businesses carried out.
In the implementation of Nusantara Economic Hero assistance in Kendari City, the indicators of the achievement of this program can be seen through the results of observations and interviews at one of the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero Independent in Bungkutoko Village.Mrs. Wayama, who is one of the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero in the 11th month of 2023 with the category of livestock business, namely the Kuwe Fish Cage (White Fish), really feels the positive benefits of PENA.The KPM stated that it was really helped by the capital injection from PENA Berdikari.Although the financial assistance received amounted to Rp. 2,500,000,-, the money had funded his business in purchasing kuwe fish seeds.The assistance of these funds has helped Mrs. Wayama as a kuwe fish farmer to have socioeconomic capabilities independently.Because, previously, the capital of fish seeds needed to be cultivated was debt capital from fish seed suppliers.And with the financial assistance from Nusantara Economic Hero, Mrs. Wayama no longer needs to owe money to fish seed suppliers.However, he can be more independent without fear of relying on fish seed suppliers.That way, the benefits obtained can also be maximized.Another example of a case can also be seen from the gas balloon business owned by Mr. Hendri Haefar.
The marketing process carried out before participating in the training from Nusantara Economic Hero is directly (offline) without any business promotion through social media.
However, after receiving training from Nusantara Economic Hero, the marketing method also developed.Marketing and promotions that were initially direct now also have promotions carried out through social media.The increase in the social ability of the community's economic economy in an independent or independent manner can be associated with the opinion of (Arsyad, 2017) about the purpose of empowerment, which is to give rise to individuals with an independent spirit in society.The empowerment carried out through PENA in Kendari City has at least increased the independence of almost all its KPM.

The Screening of KPM Who Really Need Social Assistance With Those Who Do Not
One of the objectives of empowerment through PENA assistance is to screen KPM who really need social assistance with those who do not.Which, the candidates for KPM for Nusantara Economic Hero assistance are those who are KPM for other social assistance such as the Family Hope Program (PKH), Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT), Integrated Prosperous House (RST), and so on.It can be understood that the families who will be beneficiaries of Nusantara Economic Hero are the families that have the potential to have good socio-economic conditions in the future.
Beneficiary Families (KPM) who really embrace social assistance are of course those who still have economic conditions that need to be provided assistance, in this case those who still have difficulties in meeting their daily needs.Meanwhile, KPM who no longer need social assistance are those who already have economic resilience for which they can meet their daily economic needs.After conducting interviews and observations in Kendari City, the author found that in the implementation of Nusantara Economic Hero, most of the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero are those who already have businesses.And from the efforts carried out, it can be said that they are able to meet their basic daily needs but they are still registered as recipients of social assistance such as PKH, BPNT, and RST.For this reason, the KPM from the assistance can be said to be worthy of improving their standard of living by becoming recipients of Nusantara Economic Hero assistance.To become a beneficiary of Nusantara Economic Hero assistance, it has also been said that KPM candidates must also feel that they have really felt ready to get out of the beneficiaries (graduation) of the social assistance they received previously.
From the interview, one of the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero, Mrs. Wayama, stated that she was also initially confused and wanted to have time to withdraw from the KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidate because the socialization or information conveyed by the social companion was not clear.But after being given clarity, the help is there and must take part in training.On the other hand, the results of the interview are the age limit for KPM Nusantara Economic Hero candidates to be 40 years old and below.Because Mrs. Wayama's age at that time was 40 years old, she was also finally registered in KPM Nusantara Economic Hero.Apart from the previous things, Mrs. Wayama also has a potential business, namely a cage of kuwe fish (white fish), so she is also prioritized to get an injection of business assistance funds from PENA.

CONCLUSION
Based on the results and discussion above, the conclusion that can be drawn in this study is that First, the Nusantara Economic Hero category in Kendari City is divided into two types: Regular PENA and Independent Nusantara Economic Hero, with the amount of assistance funds of Rp 6,000,000 and Rp 2,400,000 respectively, as well as differences in the determination of Beneficiary Families.Second, the empowerment stages are analyzed using the concept of Isbandi Rukminto Adi, covering seven stages from preparation to termination.
Third, the achievement of the program is assessed based on the increase in KPM income, the socio-economic ability of KPM independently, and the accuracy of the target of aid recipients.
The results of the study show that the Nusantara Economic Hero Program in Kendari City has succeeded in empowering most of the beneficiary families.This conclusion was obtained through observation and direct interviews with the implementing parties and beneficiaries of the program.This study provides a comprehensive overview of the implementation and impact of the Nusantara Economic Hero Program in Kendari City, demonstrating its effectiveness in community empowerment efforts and improving the economic welfare of beneficiaries.
Initial observations show that the realization of the Nusantara Economic Hero Program program in Kendari City has been running in two categories of Nusantara Economic Hero Program, namely Regular Nusantara Economic Hero Program in 2022 with one disbursement of funds and Nusantara Economic Hero Program Independent 2023 with 2 (two) disbursements of funds.The recipients of the 2022 Regular PENA consist of 15 beneficiaries and the 2023 Independent Nusantara Economic Hero Program consists of 18 beneficiaries.