| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2 Oct 2016 | Asia Samachar |
Jagdev Singh, a Kuala Lumpur based sound system engineer, was glad to have attended a one-day workshop on access to business funding for Indian entrepreneurs.
“We received first-hand information on tapping existing sources of funding either to start a new business or to expand our existing ventures,” he told Asia Samachar.
Jagdev was one of the 150 people at the one-day Access to Business Funding Workshop organised by the Coalition of Malaysian Sikh Organisations (CMSO) and Secretariat for Empowerment of Indian Entrepreneurs (SEED) in Kuala Lumpur on 1 Oct 2016 (Saturday).
The participants, including youth and women, came from the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor.
“Being a long weekend, I was not sure of participation today. I must congratulate the Coalition of Malaysian Sikh Organisations for going the extra mile to fill up this room,” SEED Director A. T. Kumararajah told the participants.
“Let me assure you that we will organise more programmes for the Sikh community together with the Coalition.”
SEED, a unit under the Indian Community ETP Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department, aims to provide an access for every Malaysian Indian to play a role in transforming the economic landscape of the Malaysian Indian community. ETP refers to the Malaysian government initiated Economic Transformation Programme.
Also present was Prof NS Rajendran, director of Socio-Economic Development of the Indian Community (SEDIC), a special unit formed under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Elaborating on the need for the programme, CMSO Secretary General Autar Singh said the event was part of the coalition’s economic agenda. It had earlier organised the Entrepreneur Startup Bootcamp in March.
“The agenda was a response to one of the core needs of the community highlighted in a Research Report funded by the coalition,” he said in a text message to Asia Samachar.
He said CMSO is now working on setting up a Sikh Business Network and the 1st Asean Sikh Economic Summit in Kuala Lumpur in July 2017 to set the Economic Agenda for Asean Sikhs.
Malaysian Sikh Women’s Awareness Network (SWAN), a member of the coalition, is helping develop new women entrepreneurs through various initiatives.
Jasswinder Singh Virk, another participant at the workshop, said it educated participants on the various opportunities available for entrepreneurs.
“Training and development for the entrepreneur and their staff is almost free. We must tap into these resources, otherwise we lose out on these opportunities,” he said.
The workshop invited representatives of various Government agencies to provide first-hand information to the participants.
The agencies included Tekun Nasional, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, SME Bank and its wholly owned subsidiary Centre for Entrpreneur Development and Research (CEDAR), SME Corporation Malaysia, Agensi Kaunseling Dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
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If thats he case Malaysian Sikhs should consider themselves as part of the Malaysian Indian community and not as BANGSA LAIN-LAIN .This will only divide Indians on the whole
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