Malaysia: AN idea shared by two women - a politician and a chartered accountant -- 15 years ago, is now a source of hope for thousands of disadvantaged women across the country.

When the Women's Institute of Management was set up by then national unity and social development minister Tan Sri Napsiah Omar and Datuk Dr Nellie Tan, now the co-founder and deputy chairperson of WIM, the objective was to improve the lives of women in rural areas.

"I had a strong background in non-governmental organisation work and I did not want to set up another NGO that would just hand out money. The best gift we can give a woman is the skill to run a business. Nobody can take that from her. It will be a real asset," Tan said.

They started raising funds to run the organisation and organised motivational talks by an international speaker and it worked.

"We had to make noise to be noticed. The turnout for both events was much more than we expected."
Their dream slowly took shape in the form of numerous roadshows in rural areas across the country, educating women on the benefits of gaining extra income by starting small businesses.

"We focused on small businesses because they are flexible. You can choose when you want to work, whether half a day or at certain times of the day. It is flexible, depending on the situation of women, who may have bedridden parents or school-going children to look after."

Tan knew convincing these women was not going to be easy, but there was help from radio stations.

"Small businesses are highly relevant, especially in the current economic situation," she said.

"Because we own the business, we will be passionate about it and go all out to be successful and earn additional income to help the family.

"Malaysia is fortunate because we are a small country with a good government that has taken care of certain things for us. We are a literate society and we have all the soft assets."

It was not always an easy task to convince these women that they could be entrepreneurs in their own right. Most of them, Tan said, had never stepped out of their neighbourhoods or estates.

"Women came from everywhere just to attend the sessions. They walked, came in buses and taxis. Some of them did not even know how to use the elevator, but they were eager to learn."

Tan said women usually needed a reality check about what they were getting themselves into.

She said they should think out of the box to market their products, especially when they do not make good sales initially.

"Don't give up. You may have a boutique and surround yourself with beautiful clothes, but that does not mean you have made it.

"If your clothes don't sell in the city, take it to a small town. If that doesn't work, go to the villages. Planning the line of marketing is important." - NST