Published: on 17 February 2012 - 05:39am
EE ANN NEE
sunbiz@thesundaily.com
From left: Reuters News Bangalore general manager Christina Pantin, Sung Joo D&D chairperson & chief visionary officer Sung-Joo Kim, Amway China non-executive chairperson Eva Cheng, Hafsah and MyEG Services executive chairman Datuk Dr Norraesah Mohamad at a panel discussion at the Women in Leadership Forum Asia.
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17, 2012): The number of women entrepreneurs setting up small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are on the rise and SME Corporation Malaysia CEO Datuk Hafsah Hashim is looking to see that at least 20% of total businesses will be run by women.
"In 2005, 16% of 500,000 active companies were owned by women. More and more women are coming onboard every year," Hafsah told a press conference at the second annual Women in Leadership (WIL) Forum Asia here yesterday.
She said SME Corp's annual directory of women in business showed an increasing trend of the fairer sex venturing into the SME business.
"We see a lot of women in retail, wholesale, restaurants and professional services. There are also women running businesses usually dominated by men, such as in oil and gas."
Hafsah told SunBiz that the main challenge businesswomen face is access to finance and working capital.
"The banking community is still doubtful about women, and this happens whenever women entrepreneurs approach banks for loans. However, we have been able to prove that under the Amanah Ikthiar Malaysia (AIM) loan facility, all women do pay back their loans ... in fact women are better paymasters than men," Hafsah said.
The WIL forum was opened by Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
Rosmah said the biggest growth sectors for women in business are wholesale trade, healthcare services, entertainment and recreation, professional, scientific and technical services.
She urged women in key decision-making positions to put forth plans that would facilitate the creation of business game changers.
"To advance to greater heights, we need to focus on women as business game changers. Game changers are those who innovate to significantly change the way business is done or even create a new industry," Rosmah said in her speech.
She said it is common for business to start in an unplanned manner for a game changer.
"To grow and sustain business, they must have the necessary requirements including adequate capital, technological competency and business skills to overcome challenges," she said.
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17, 2012): The number of women entrepreneurs setting up small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are on the rise and SME Corporation Malaysia CEO Datuk Hafsah Hashim is looking to see that at least 20% of total businesses will be run by women.
"In 2005, 16% of 500,000 active companies were owned by women. More and more women are coming onboard every year," Hafsah told a press conference at the second annual Women in Leadership (WIL) Forum Asia here yesterday.
She said SME Corp's annual directory of women in business showed an increasing trend of the fairer sex venturing into the SME business.
"We see a lot of women in retail, wholesale, restaurants and professional services. There are also women running businesses usually dominated by men, such as in oil and gas."
Hafsah told SunBiz that the main challenge businesswomen face is access to finance and working capital.
"The banking community is still doubtful about women, and this happens whenever women entrepreneurs approach banks for loans. However, we have been able to prove that under the Amanah Ikthiar Malaysia (AIM) loan facility, all women do pay back their loans ... in fact women are better paymasters than men," Hafsah said.
The WIL forum was opened by Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
Rosmah said the biggest growth sectors for women in business are wholesale trade, healthcare services, entertainment and recreation, professional, scientific and technical services.
She urged women in key decision-making positions to put forth plans that would facilitate the creation of business game changers.
"To advance to greater heights, we need to focus on women as business game changers. Game changers are those who innovate to significantly change the way business is done or even create a new industry," Rosmah said in her speech.
She said it is common for business to start in an unplanned manner for a game changer.
"To grow and sustain business, they must have the necessary requirements including adequate capital, technological competency and business skills to overcome challenges," she said.
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