Under the MEKAR programme, participants are equipped with business management skills like basic accounting, taxation, preparing profit-loss statements, expense records and daily cashflow.
“MEKAR achieved its objectives when 35 out of 45 of its 2020 participants recorded income increases of over 100 per cent.
“Five participants even managed to strengthen their product brands by tapping into supermarket chains in the country,” she said during her speech at the MEKAR graduation ceremony here today.
A participant, Zainah Mohd Nor, 62, a nasi dagang entrepreneur from Kampung Teluk Ketapang said he was thankful to have been chosen to participate in the programme, which was conducted online for a year.
He said he started with a monthly income of RM1,500 through sales of nasi lemak in schools, but now is able to rake in an average of RM5,000 a month selling various items, including nasi lemak, nasi dagang, nasi minyak and kuih.
“I started off by giving my children nasi lemak for them to sell to their classmates. What we gained wasn’t that much and I never dreamt that I could gain several thousand a month.
“But with MEKAR’s guidance and advice, I am confident to sell more with the help of my four children to reap so much more,” he said, adding that he also received RM80 a month for kitchen supplies when he joined the MEKAR programme.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency