Basic Financial Management and Market Competition-Based Pricing Education for the West Kupang Community

Abstract

This Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat (PKM) is motivated by the high enthusiasm of youth in Kupang Regency in pioneering micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which is still hindered by low basic financial literacy. The partners' primary problems include the practice of mixing personal and business cash flows, the inability to calculate the Cost of Production accurately due to ignoring hidden cost components, and speculative selling price determination that creates an illusion of profitability. This activity aims to improve cash bookkeeping literacy, train comprehensive Cost of Production calculation skills, and equip partners with competitive selling price strategy skills to foster sustainable business independence. The implemented method applies a combination of the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach, andragogy (adult learning), and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration via mobile devices. The series of programs were realized through socialization, technical guidance, market research workshops, and implementation mentoring. The results of the activity show a significant transformation in managerial governance, where the level of understanding and application of separate bookkeeping, Cost of Production calculation, and pricing formulation drastically increased from an initial 40% to 95–100%. The implication of this service program is that the youth partner groups are now capable of making logical and competitive pricing decisions, securing working capital turnover, and building a more resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kupang Regency.