50 Sarawak Women Entrepreneurs Receive Entrepreneurship Grants to Boost Micro Businesses

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 July 2025 – Fifty women entrepreneurs, supported through a collaborative entrepreneurship initiative by MADCash, the Sarawak Women and Family Department (JWKS), and an Islamic financial institution, have been awarded grants ranging from RM2000 and RM6000 to accelerate the growth of their micro-enterprises and empower their journey towards financial independence. These women have taken eight classes of business and financial topics, which sets the basic understanding of their business as they move to the phase of stabilizing and growing their business.

The handing over of the grant cheque was carried out by Ybrs. Puan Salmah Binti Jobeli, Director of the Women and Family Department of Sarawak, who represented YB Dato Sri Hajah Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Women, Children and Community Welfare of Sarawak, during a ceremony in Kuching, on 11 July.

In her speech, Salmah said, “We welcome collaboration from private organisations in supporting the growth of Sarawakian women entrepreneurs and hope to see more of these activities in the future.”

Meanwhile, Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin, CEO of MADCash, explained, “It is common knowledge that MADCash’s programmes often provide funds in the form of interest-free loans. However, this is the first time we have the opportunity to work with grants, which will provide a different approach to supporting these women. All the participants have completed business and financial training classes that we organized over two months.

Now the next journey begins – using the funding given to grow and strengthen their businesses.”

Nuraizah further stated that MADCash’s objective is to help all recipients increase their income so that when their businesses have grown, they will be eligible to apply for mainstream financial assistance in the future, such as loans from MADCash and other financial institutions.