Committee members and 10 mentees from Sabah at the Meet and Greet session.
KOTA KINABALU: A six-month Wanita Empowered (WE) Business Mentorship Program involving 10 mentees from Sabah is expected to provide more knowledge and wider network for experienced entrepreneurs to level up.
The programme equips the participants with skills and resources to further develop themselves and their business.
Today, a Meet and Greet session was held in a hotel here, with a total of 40 people participating in a hybrid event where mentors, mentees, organizers and facilitators met online and physically.
The purpose of the event was for the mentees to foster a good relationship between mentees and mentors while meeting new people.
Apart from Sabah, two other states are also in this programme that is expected to end next month, namely Sarawak and Penang.
Under the Wanita Empowered campaign, this programme is funded by the US Embassy and managed by Sabah Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Association (Swepa) with project partners; 3R, Penang Women Chambers of Commerce (PWCC) and The Women Entrepreneurs and Professional Association Sarawak (WEPS).
“This is a rewarding experience journeying together. We are hoping to see our entrepreneurs level up despite having to deal with challenging situations,” said Swepa president Lai Fui Nar, during a press conference today.
“This was a wonderful learning experience managing a nationwide programme through the pandemic and having to adjust to digitalisation and travelling barries,” added organising chairperson cum programme and project manager, Michelle de la Harpe-Germani.
The representative from US Embassy, Katherine Diop shared her thoughts in a virtual press conference, saying, “it demonstrates our commitment to promoting equality in opportunity, supporting women’s economic empowerment and strengthening ties between the US and Malaysia.
“When we work together to lift women, we lift up families, we lift up communities and all of society benefits. This is true in the United States, this is true in Malaysia and everywhere in the globe,” she added.
During the session today, the 10 mentees from Sabah were given the chance to do a brief introduction of their business.
As part of the event, an insightful talk was held by an experienced international trainer, Teresa Alberto with the interesting title of “The Boss and I”.
The WE Business Mentorship Program has been running since November last year with the graduation is set to be held in April this year, and involves five months of nine online workshops, one-on-one mentoring and five sessions of peer sharing.
Mentees will present their business pitch in conjunction with their graduation to potential investors.
The programme is part of the US Embassy’s Wanita Empowered campaign to promote equality in opportunity, support growth and strengthen economic ties between the US and Malaysia.
It is aimed at encouraging women in Malaysia to be bold, confident and innovative in pursuing their dreams, seizing new challenges and living their lives to their fullest potential.