MORE than 3,000 women-owned businesses have registered under Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade).
Its transformation and digital trade division senior director Khairul Annuar Abdul Halim said only 441, including 89 from Johor, were involved in export businesses.“About 19.6% of businesses in the country are owned by women and from that total, about 3,345 of them are registered with Matrade.
“However, the number involved in the export business is relatively low and we would like to encourage more women to get involved in the global supply chain,” he said in his speech during the Matrade Mid-Tier Benchmarking Programme in Johor Baru.
Khairul Annuar said Matrade had launched the Women Exporters Development Programme in 2005 with the aim of encouraging more businesswomen to export their products and services overseas.
“The programme hopes to increase their exports, nurture women-helmed businesses and create more opportunities for them in the international market.
“Since its inception, 163 women-owned businesses have been recruited under the programme,” he said.
Khairul Anuar noted that the participants included those involved in lifestyle and life-sciences, food and beverage, oil and gas, construction, services and chemical industries.
“From participation in 455 promotional campaigns, the programme has generated cumulative total export revenue of RM693.03mil,” he noted.
On the benchmarking programme, he said the event served as an interactive knowledge- sharing platform among mid-tier companies as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“The main objective is to guide MSMEs to expand their export business as well as enhance competitiveness by adopting best practices.
“It will also pave the way for closer ties to be fostered among participants of the programme for further learning opportunities,” he said, adding that 30 people took part in the event.
Among them was finance manager Jean Loh, 55, who was happy to meet the speakers and promote her products to more people.
“I was able to share about my products with about 100 people after one of the speakers recommended them to people working in her company.
“I have also learned a lot through the programme, especially on how to further expand the company and export our products,” she said.
Catherine Choon, 30, who is the community engagement lead in her company’s marketing and communications department, said she gained valuable insight into women’s empowerment and how to run a sustainable business.
“The programme allows us to learn more about leadership.
“It is also a good networking platform as we get to meet players from various sectors,” she said.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2022/07/12/nurturing-women-exporters