Women entrepreneurs able to compete, earn lucrative income - Hasbi

LIMBANG, June 15 (Bernama) -- Women's involvement in the economy and entrepreneurship has now increased to the point of being able to provide competition and earn a lucrative income.

This includes women in rural areas who, if given the opportunity and equipped with skills and mastery of technology, are able to succeed and be competitive not only locally but also globally, Deputy Rural Development Minister II Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said.

He said one of the 10 thrusts covered in his ministry's Rural Development Policy (DPLB) 2030 was progressive rural women.

"In these thrusts, the three aspects mentioned are rural economic empowerment, strengthening of support system services for rural women and empowering rural women leadership," he said while officiating the Rural Women Entrepreneurship Seminar and Rural Women Workshop: How To Make Your 1st Million Sarawak Zone here today.

To be a successful entrepreneur, he said, knowledge and skills related to business must be constantly improved so that the business can remain relevant and flourish. 

Besides this,  he said marketing strategies have also changed with the passage of time where today various quick and easy promotional methods through social media such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok can be used in addition to online transactions that allow business transactions to be carried out anytime and anywhere.

Hasbi said KPLB had formulated strategies to increase opportunities for women's participation in the economic and entrepreneurial sectors, optimise women's capacity and employment rates as well as increase women's productive asset ownership, investment rates and savings.

The strategy includes training programmes, seminars, workshops and courses organised by the Institute of Rural Development (INFRA) as well as agencies under KPLB that can benefit the women involved.

He also hoped that the two-day seminar and workshop would provide an opportunity for women traders and entrepreneurs in Limbang to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and support the family economy so that they can enjoy a better standard of living.

The Sarawak Zone Rural Women Entrepreneurship Seminar was attended by 120 women entrepreneurs while the Rural Women Entrepreneurship Workshop attracted 40 entrepreneurs.

-- BERNAMA