A two-day expo showcasing products by Selangor housewives (Hassel 2020), which opened at the Shah Alam Convention Centre yesterday, is a platform for women entrepreneurs in the state to promote their products commercially, says a state executive councillor.
State Health, Welfare, Women Empowerment and Family Committee chairman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said it is one of the state government’s initiatives to empower women in Selangor especially those facing socio-economic issues.
The expo has attracted the participation of some 50 women running small businesses statewide including single mothers, people with disabilities, and members of the B40 income group.
“We have invited large business owners including the owner of a prominent Kuala Lumpur shopping centre to look at the products such as batik, textiles and leather products that have the potential to be marketed at their premises.
“We have also secured an agreement from a prominent hotel in Selangor to exhibit the products, and discussions are ongoing with five other hotels,” she told reporters at the convention centre today.
The expo was earlier inaugurated by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari. Also present was state Entrepreneur Development, Rural, Village and Traditional Village Committee chairman Rodziah Ismail.
Dr Siti Mariah said the expo may be made an annual affair as one of the programmes under the state’s women and family empowerment portfolio, adding she hopes it could be one of the platforms with which to achieve the objectives outlined in the Selangor Women’s Policy.
She noted that women own, operate or manage only 20% of the country’s small and medium enterprises, which constitute about 99% of the total business enterprises in Malaysia, and that raising their participation in the sector would substantially advance women’s economic empowerment. – March 8, 2020, Bernama
