AFTER the success of ‘Penang Women Entrepreneur Mentoring Programme (PWEMP) 2.0’, the programme is back to transform the lives of more women.
State executive councillor Chong Eng said the PWEMP 3.0, which is organised by Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC), is set to take place in August.
She said PWEMP is a platform for women entrepreneurs to build networks as well as to provide them with a good support system.
“To achieve the target of having 40% of small-medium enterprises (SMEs) owned by women by year 2030, we need at least 100,000 women entrepreneurs.
“Thus, this programme is among the platforms to help realise the target,” Chong Eng said during a press conference today.
The PWEMP is also supported by WomenBizSENSE, Penang Women Chamber of Commerce (PWCC), JCI Pearl, National Association of Women Entrepreneurs (NAWEM Pulau Pinang), Pertubuhan Pembangunan Wanita PRIHATIN Pulau Pinang and Pertubuhan IKRAM Negeri Pulau Pinang.
“We would like to thank our collaborative partners for their significant input to further strengthen the structure of our programme.
“This time, PWEMP will be working with our new partners who are the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), namely Pertubuhan Pembangunan Wanita PRIHATIN Pulau Pinang and Pertubuhan IKRAM Negeri Pulau Pinang.
“NGOs are instrumental in helping to provide a friendly ecosystem for women so that they can thrive in the field of entrepreneurship,” she added.
Meanwhile, PWDC chief executive officer Ong Bee Leng said she hoped that mentees would turn out to become mentors to continue empowering women.
“We hope that our mentees will pass down the benefits that they had gained through the programme by offering to become mentors.
“There will be two groups as classes will be conducted in English and Bahasa Malaysia. Each group will consist of 100 mentees,” Ong added.
PWEMP 2.0 mentees Hanna Hang Cheok Ai, Ganga Devi Ganesh and Yew Su Fen were also present to share their experience and knowledge.
Ganga Devi said the programme has helped her to break through the obstacles to becoming an entrepreneur.
“The starting point to come out from my comfort zone was challenging and it was PWEMP 2.0 that motivated me to take my first step.
“The programme helped us to think and reflect on ways to plan for our business and it has also boosted my self-confidence.
“I will be launching my own curry powder business soon,” Ganga Devi added.
Also present was Krista Goon who is a member of PWDC’s board of directors.
To join the programme, the mentee must be a Penang resident and 18 years old and above, with or without SSM registration, and is willing to commit for four months.
The registration fee for individuals who are from B40 is RM80 per person and RM300 for the M40/T20 group.
Individuals who wish to mentor the participants must be passionate to coach the mentees and must be experienced business owners.
The registration for both the mentees and mentors is open now. The closing date is on July 31.
For further enquiries contact 04-261 2835 / 014-545 0640 or can email to [email protected]
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Alissala Thian