Women can generate the economy by operating online businesses to gain income

by ASILA JALIL / Pic Source: Women, Family and Community Development Ministry

THE government has urged more women to become entrepreneurs by taking advantage of easy access to funding and digital tools in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun (picture) said women should leverage various online platforms that have been made available to help them sustain their businesses.

“Women can generate the economy on top of playing their roles as housewives by operating online businesses to gain income.

“I urge all women to get themselves involved in entrepreneurship especially when many have lost their jobs during this Covid-19 pandemic,” she said during the virtual launch of Maxis Digital Marketing Programme for Women, eKelas Usahawan.

The minister lauded Maxis’ move to increase digitalisation adoption among women by enabling them to participate in the digital sphere.

Rina said her ministry will continue to provide support for women entrepreneurs in line with its commitment to create more income generation opportunities especially for those in the bottom 40% income segment.

eKelas Usahawan comprises a series of digital marketing workshops with practical and hands-on approaches to equip entrepreneurs with digital skills to help them grow their businesses and expand income opportunities.

Maxis is collaborating with local NGOs in different states to identify entrepreneurs to register for the full-day workshops. In total, there will be 10 workshops and Maxis is eyeing 300 participants for the programme.

Maxis CEO Gokhan Ogut said its first workshop held in Sabah attracted 30 people and the group estimates the number of participants per workshop will increase over the years.

“At Maxis, our community initiatives are underlined by our passion for education and our purpose to bring together the best of technologies to enable the nation to always be ahead in a changing world.

“We built upon what we learnt in a challenging pandemic year, to continue supporting communities and helping to drive digital adoption especially among entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprises,” he said.

eKelas Usahawan also enables participants to work with a specialised content and training partner. Meanwhile, modules have been

developed to include tips and basic skills in digital photography, marketing and advertising through online and social media platforms, and digital payments.

Maxis chief corporate affairs officer Mariam Bevi Batcha said Maxis’ digital marketing workshops, which have been running over the last few years, have so far attracted participants who are keen on learning more about digitalisation.

Via the programmes, she said most of the participants were women who inspired Maxis to launch eKelas Usahawan specifically to develop the talents among women entrepreneurs.

“The response from the programmes we held previously was extremely positive, especially from women entrepreneurs.

“We also found that most of the participants were mostly women, so we were inspired by this and decided to launch eKelas Usahawan as a dedicated women programme,” she said.

She added that Maxis will open the programme to men if more male participants show interest in the programme in the future.