KUALA LUMPUR – To help elevate Malaysia to developed nation status, the Malaysian government has, through its National Entrepreneurship Policy 2030 (NEP), set out a comprehensive strategic direction to develop the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Fostering an entrepreneurship culture across all segments of Malaysian society has been identified as a strategic thrust under the NEP, which aims to promote entrepreneurship as a career of choice among youth, women and the B40.
Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad (PAMB), Taylor’s Education Group, Yayasan Generasi Gemilang (YGG) and the National Entrepreneurship Institute (INSKEN) have partnered to pilot the PRUKasih Entrepreneurship Programme to equip urban low-income groups with entrepreneurship skills and knowledge.
Established in 2011 in partnership between PAMB and YGG, PRUKasih is a sponsored financial protection plan to support the Government’s efforts to improve the lives of urban low-income households in Malaysia. In recent years, the programme was expanded to provide financial education knowledge to PRUKasih communities and in 2020, members were given the opportunity to embark on an entrepreneurial journey.
“A total of 70 applications were received, among which 32 participants were selected to be in the first cohort. The programme started off with the participants attending business and mental health knowledge learning sessions through virtual classrooms.
“They were then invited to a pitch session after which equipment grants were awarded to eligible participants by PAMB to help them kick start their business,” said PAMB in a statement on April 15.
After seven months of virtual training and practical sessions, 18 PRUKasih Entrepreneurship participants were presented at a virtual graduation ceremony to celebrate their achievements. The virtual ceremony was attended by Muhd Firdaus Azharuddin, CEO of INSKEN, Gan Leong Hin, CEO of PAMB and May Wong, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility from Taylor’s.
The graduates will continue their journey with INSKEN to further develop their entrepreneurial and business growth strategy.
Following the successful graduation of the first cohort, PAMB has rolled out Phase 2 of the programme in March with 70 new participants.
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