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AIM helps women entrepreneurs grow
Published on: Sunday, May 07, 2023
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Sarina showing some of her biscuit products.
Products under her company Sarina Enterprise register sales of hundreds of thousands of ringgit a month and increases during the festive season.
Creating an extensive network of agents throughout Sabah has been one of the keys to the success of this mother of six.
Her sales products involve 15 types of biscuits that are always in demand.
Sarina said the system has proven to be effective because it adopts the shared economy concept with others equally enjoying the profits.
According to her, quality control and competitive pricing also play a role in product marketing strategy apart from hard work, diligence and striving to further expand the business.
Every month she would supply some 3,000 jars of biscuit products to agents and that number could reach 20,000 jars during the festive season.
“Apart from adopting the agent concept and online marketing, I also supply these products to six supermarkets in Sandakan.
“I am also doing catering,” she said when met during a visit by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) Sabah Director, Jahinin Siman at her residence in Taman Mawar, here.
Sarina’s life changed when the decided not to remain being a sweeper. It all started when she became an AIM Friend in 2014 with an initial loan of RM2,000 to start a business. From there, she said, the money was used to buy necessary ingredients for her biscuit products, including a small oven.
“I was just a sweeper earning RM380 a month but then the intention to do business at the time was to help my husband who was earning low income to raise our children.
“Imagine when I first started doing business and not owning a vehicle. I was pregnant with my fifth child at the time and had to walk here and there to bring sales to every grocery store in the area.
“I really had no choice but to work hard because I realise I need to improve our living standard.
Business was so bad during the Covid-19 pandemic that she felt tempted to close shop.
She said starting from the first Movement Control Order (MCO) until the following MCO caused the business to be unable to operate.
However, she and her husband were not discouraged but adopted a new marketing strategy based on the situation at that time by doing online marketing.
“Even though movement was limited, we were still able to reap high profits as a result of the new strategy as well as save the business.
“My house turned into a mini factory with the help of 10. I plan to return to operate in a larger premises after this,” she said.
Another success story is that of Yanong Latuka, who runs a chicken and meatball business which brought in barely RM500 per month 11 years ago.
The 65-year-old now earns a six-figure monthly income through her Hajah Yanong Industries Sdn Bhd and Hajah Yanong Frozen Culinary Enterprise, which specialises in chicken and meatball products as well as more than 20 other food items.
Her products, which were previously only available in grocery shops and restaurants in Kinabatangan, are now available in all supermarkets in the State, as well as the Peninsula.
Yanong (right) with her daughter Pausiah showing their products.
Sales of the company’s numerous products in Kg Paris Tiga, Kinabatangan, surpassed RM500,000 per month.
She now owns two food processing plants, according to her eldest daughter Pausiah Abu, 45, who is also the Business Development Director of Hajah Yanong Industries Sdn Bhd.
The first factory was founded in Kg Paris Tiga (Kinabatangan) in 2012, and the second in the SME Entrepreneur Complex in Lok Kawi in 2014.
“Over 14 years in this business, including having a premises selling frozen food products in Kg Paris Tiga, this is the culmination of efforts and strategic planning.
“In Penampang, we also have a central kitchen that supplies food to our five kiosks or food stalls in Donggongon, Bundusan, Likas, Kepayan and Lok Kawi,” she said.
Pausiah recalled that it all started with a RM1,000 AIM loan at the end of 2011.
Her mother then began commercially producing chicken and meatballs, as well as other food products under her own brand.
Many hurdles were encountered throughout her three years in the business, according to her, but with perseverance, their products eventually gained demand.
“Initially, due to restricted equipment and labour, our production was just one tonne per month until extra loans enabled us to produce up to 25 tonnes per month,” she said.
“I recall how, at the start of our endeavour, my six siblings and I assisted my mother in making chicken and meatballs by hand because there was no processing equipment.
“It was a difficult period. My father was a village worker. Our house was once broken into since it had no walls and was simply covered with canvas.
“From there, we were determined to make a difference in our lives, and with the help of AIM, we were able to get to where we are now,” she said.
Pausiah said they hoped to develop a larger factory in the future to enhance production by up to 70 tonnes per month.
She said that current production is roughly 25 tonnes per month, with sales revenue of RM500,000, but is optimistic that this will climb to RM1 million if the new facility is built.
“We are currently searching for additional places to build a larger facility to accommodate market demand, which includes demand from beyond Malaysia, particularly from countries in the Middle East.”
In preparation, we now have a RM250,000 food preservative (retort) that can handle up to 3,000 packs each day, allowing us to produce more efficiently.
“At the same time, we share this service with other Sabah entrepreneurs, particularly those who wish to start producing fast food products like we do,” she said.
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