CGC100 Fast Track Produces 20 New Young Entrepreneurs, Adds AI in Third Cohort

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- Twenty aspiring entrepreneurs graduated today from the CGC100 Youth Entrepreneurship Programme Fast Track Cohort Two, an initiative by Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC).

Conducted in collaboration with PINTAR Foundation and supported by the Ministry of Education, the programme targets aspiring entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 23 from B40 and M40 communities.

CGC chairman Datuk Mohammed Hussein said the initiative goes beyond equipping participants with basic business skills, focusing also on instilling values to build ethical, sustainable and resilient ventures.

“This six-month programme serves as a platform to teach fundamental business skills, but more importantly, it aims to instil values in running a business.

“Sustainable and resilient businesses can only be achieved through active participation, not just by owning shares,” he told reporters after the CGC100 Fast Track Cohort Two Graduation Ceremony and Fast Track Cohort Three Launching here today.

Also present was CGC president and chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak.

The CGC100 Youth Entrepreneurship Programme has so far produced 70 graduates, including from the 12-month Comprehensive Track programme, and created 61 new jobs, with 64 per cent of participants earning more than RM10,000 per month.

The impact spans 20 industries, with 80 per cent of graduates successfully registering their businesses with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), and 71 per cent of financing applicants securing the full amount requested.

The upcoming Fast Track Cohort Three, scheduled from August 2025 to February 2026, will enrol 30 participants in a six-month curriculum covering business fundamentals, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), branding, the digital economy, financial literacy and pitching.

Mohammed said the third cohort may also feature new elements, including artificial intelligence (AI), to prepare participants for future business challenges.

“The new element we want to introduce is the digital impact of AI. If AI develops exponentially, tasks we once thought only humans could do will no longer be the case.

“It is both exciting and scary, so we must first create awareness while instilling the right values,” he said.

One of the graduates, Carmelina Taunek, 21, said the programme had helped her improve financial management skills and grow her hydroponic farming business in Keningau, Sabah.

“When we started, our monthly sales were only around RM300, but now we reach about RM2,000. This programme really changed the way we run our business,” she said.

Another graduate, Ali Iskandar Padzil, 24, said the training had refined his business management approach for his fresh chicken supply company in Kepala Batas, Penang, enhancing team management and operational structure.

-- BERNAMA