Unexpected Kargo MBA Internship; A Summer of Surprises
Written by Ankita Satpathy
It’s quite unexpected to be walking down 23 floors of stairs one day after a few tremors from an earthquake, but then again, Jakarta has been unexpected in many ways. I wasn’t deeply passionate about logistics (who is?) but having worked in oil and gas for 6 years before going off for an MBA, I did have some experience with it. I was at the INSEAD Singapore campus when I heard about Kargo Technologies and what they are doing. I was immediately interested in the problem statement they were trying to solve (which I understood) through technology (which I wanted to understand). A few calls later, I was booking my ticket to Jakarta for a blast summer internship!
This was my first time working in Indonesia. Being a country with the highest logistics market value in South East Asia, I immediately understood that Kargo is facing one of the most challenging problems in the country. The tech ecosystem in Indonesia is at a very high growth stage and Kargo is poised to grow explosively in the next few months.
Interning here has been a wonderful experience. The work is interesting, the entire team is very collaborative, helpful and patient with each other. Through them, I learned so much about the Indonesian people, culture, and cuisine. Also, since my team is full of some very talented, vibrant young people, their enthusiasm is infectious. It was genuinely fun to work, to go out to restaurants and to travel around Indonesia with them.
Even though the current quality of the team is very commendable, as if it will never be enough, they are still obsessed with top talents and constantly raising the bar. Kargo attracts talent from all over the world. We had people working here from India, US, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Chile. The diversity was incredible and the network effects this was to create is staggering. We had 6 interns from graduate MBA programs and over 10 interns from undergraduate programs around the world in every team.
I was working in the Commercial team, trying to understand the problems in the entire value chain including building sales funnels, choosing the right strategic partnerships, building the right metrics, experimenting with different organizational structures and streamlining ground operations. I was encouraged to attend all meetings to participate in deep dives on problems and brainstorm solutions to them. Every idea I presented was given its due consideration and taken to its logical conclusion. My inputs were genuinely valued.
I have done a combined 10 months of internships during my engineering degree and 6 full years of work as a full-time employee. Working with Kargo, however, has been such a refreshing change from anything I have done before. They have found the right balance of youthful energy and measured thinking. The team is willing to think through problems, take bold risks, structure and implement experiments, study the results from them and pivot accordingly. There is always help when you need it and interesting new mini-projects to work on. If you show enthusiasm and interest in something, you are encouraged to take it up and work on it. The team-structure can be fluid enough to accommodate collaboration across the spectrum of the company.
I have enjoyed my internship period with Kargo and do not doubt that they will grow very fast in the Indonesian market. I could not have asked for a better experience.
