| Azaraimy HH |
THE contribution of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to the country’s GDP is around 18 per cent, which is below the ASEAN average of 36 per cent, and the MSMEs contribution towards exports is around six per cent, which is below the ASEAN average of 21 per cent.
Thus, towards achieving a dynamic and sustainable economy, the youth must also dare to venture into entrepreneurship, said Manager at DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) Dayangku Hajah Siti Normardinah binti Pengiran Omarali during a talk ‘Youth Entrepreneurship Ecosystem – opportunity for youths’ at the International Convention Centre (ICC) yesterday.
Dayangku Hajah Siti Normardinah spoke about various initiatives and programmes organised by the government to inculcate entrepreneurial culture, and the opportunities to help nurture and support local entrepreneurs.
She also shared about the Industry Business Academy (IBA) under DARe. DARe launched IBA in July 2016 as an integral component of their developmental programme to provide businesses with the knowledge they need to start, grow and export.
According to the Youth Entrepreneurship Ecosystem handbook, the IBA is a business course that runs every six months, two times a year. It covers many business modules ranging from financing, business plan writing, marketing, human resources. Classes are generally free, however, specialised programmes might be charged a minimal fee. Subject matter experts from the public and private sector are brought in to facilitate in modules from different industries.
The IBA programme is open to any aspiring and existing entrepreneurs of all levels. Whether the participants are at ideation stage or targetting of exporting their products overseas.
The general curriculum of IBA is taught in three levels according to the business maturity of the partisans: starting from level 1, primarily for start-ups and MSMEs to increase their general knowledge of how to start a business, and how to ensure business is sustainable.
While, level 2 further increases participants’ business knowledge. It also teach how to ensure sustainability in a growing company.
Level 3, is primarily for established companies, and will further increase the knowledge and appreciation of how to successfully expand a company overseas.
The IBA provides guidance and training that enables the participant to confidently set their business on the path towards achieving their goals.
She also briefed the youth about I-Usahawan, which is a big opportunity for the youth who aspire to do business.
She introduced the financing support available for local businesses such as microcredit financing, as well as market support initiatives such as inbound Market Access and Outbound Market Access under DARe.
The inbound market access initiative helps organises business matching and networking sessions with incoming overseas delegations to provide opportunities for collaboration with local companies. Participants are also encouraged to participate in trainings relevant to market access organised by DARe and facilitated by local and international experts.
According to the Youth Entrepreneurship Ecosystem handbook, the outbound market access provides opportunities for local companies to participate in overseas expos, trade fairs and workshops including business matching sessions abroad to promote and expose their business to the international market.
DARe offers trade missions to learn about the processes of entering target markets as well, and provide guidance on export requirements in target countries as well as improving commercial readiness of company’s products.