Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak with Nur Azini Mohamed Kamal and other winners of the Skim Usahawan Permulaan Bumiputera (Superb) scheme in Putrajaya yesterday. On Najib’s left is Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Bernama pic
PUTRAJAYA: FOR Nur Azini Mohamed Kamal to be selected among the 13 winners of the government's grant for young innovative Bumiputera entrepreneurs is a dream come true.
Her company, Impulse Studio Sdn Bhd, which she founded a couple of years ago, has been trying to bring in a technology from Germany to Malaysia but it has not been easy.
"Trying to get funding was not easy as there was little acceptance of my idea of an alternative gym despite it being so popular in Europe," Nor Azini, 37, told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Alternative gym, she said, referred to electrical muscles stimulation embedded in the workout attire to help one lose weight more efficiently than conventional work-outs.
"There are 2,000 such gyms in Europe after only seven years and I hope this will catch on here, too, not just in Malaysia but regionally as well."
Nur Azini said she had spent RM360,000 to bring the technology here and would use the RM500,000 grant to open her first gym in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar, next week.
"My goal is to open another two outlets in the Klang Valley by the end of the year."
Another winner, Megat Farril Robert Rizal, who founded Superencipherment Technology Solution Sdn Bhd, said with the grant, it would be easier for him to market his product.
He said his company and another from Israel were the only two companies that offered the data encryption security solution to secure data in mobile devices.
"We engage in multi-layer encryption and it is already being used," he said, adding that he was targeting government contracts before marketing it overseas.
The two were among 13 winners in the first phase of the Skim Usahawan Permulaan Bumiputera (Superb) scheme. Each received a grant of RM500,000.
The RM100 million grant scheme, overseen by Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju), was opened for application on Feb 1 and attracted more than 1,700 applicants, but only 25 were short-listed.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in announcing the recipients yesterday, said the 12 other finalists would instead be given RM25,000 each to help them progress in their businesses.
Najib said the government would continue to ensure that Bumiputera entrepreneur programmes like Superb remained active in line with the goal for all Malaysians to reap the benefits when Malaysia became a developed nation.
"What is certain is that all entrepreneurs in the country will always be supported by the government through assistance schemes in the form of financial help, training workshops, infrastructure or advisory services," he said at the Prime Minister's Office here yesterday.
Najib said Malaysia needed quality and innovative ideas from the younger generation as there was a huge pool of untapped talent looking to explore their capabilities and test their skills not just for the domestic market but also internationally.
"Quality idea does not revolve around whom you know but it is all about what your know-how.
"If you have an idea that can be translated into a product that has a high impact on society, we will try our best to support it."
The Superb scheme is a collaboration with government agencies, such as Cradle Fund, Malaysian Technology Development Corporation, MyCreative Ventures, Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd, Kumpulan Modal Perdana and Multimedia Development Corporation.
The panel of judges for the first round of the scheme's winners were Mydin Holdings managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin, AirAsia Bhd executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, Malay Chamber of Commerce president of the Sabah branch Datuk Awang Buhtamam and OMNI Petromaritime founder Dr Jamal Yusuf.
NSTP
No comments:
Post a Comment