KUCHING: Twenty-sevenwomen entrepreneurs from Sarawak will participate in Startup Malaysia’s Rapid Response and Recovery Programme.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Woman, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah disclosed that the women entrepreneurs will be participating in a four weeks programme starting from August 16 to September 10 via Zoom.
The programme will be conducted in three phases, namely Discovery Phase, Delivery Phase and Implementation Phase with focus on topics such as e-commerce and the use of social media platform for businesses under the current situation.
There are seven entrepreneurs who are involved in spa and massage; handicrafts (three); food (eight); construction (two); sewing and clothing (four); one each in beauty, wedding services, takaful and agriculture.
“I hope that the four-weeks programme with 12 sessions will be beneficial to all participants especially in helping them build resilience and increasing the survival of their respective businesses amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” Fatimah said.
She said this in her welcoming remarks during the Cohort #6 launch for Rapid Response and Recovery Programme via Zoom today (August 18).
Fatimah said the Women and Family Department (JWKS) as well as the Sarawak Women and Family Council (MWKS) which were directly involved and focused on women entrepreneurs had nominated 90 candidates.
She disclosed that the nomination was based on the criteria set by Startup Malaysia namely entrepreneurial business that has been in operation for at least six months; the business has at least one employee or plans to hire employees in the future; highly committed and interested in strengthening her business; business is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Besides that, one of the criteria also gives priority to the entrepreneurs and businesses in the rural areas and or from the B40 or M40 communities,” she added.
Fatimah expressed appreciation to Startup Malaysia for making the ministry a strategic partner in the programme.
“My ministry always welcome programmes like this as it is in line with the efforts and initiatives undertaken by the ministry as well as its agencies towards achieving the state’s digital economy agenda,” she said.
