“Sembang Sembang” in Penang Empowers Women Entrepreneurs

Some of the enthusiastic participants of Penang’s first “Sembang-Sembang.”

On May 4th, the “Sembang Sembang” series of workshops aimed at empowering women to advance themselves economically and socially through entrepreneurship filled the venue, at Anjung Budi Terrace at University of Science Malaysia to capacity with 60 guests. This “Sembang Sembang,” (Malay for ‘Casual Conversations’) which was co organized by KUMUDA – (Penang Young Entrepreneurs Co-operative) and was entitled “The Creative Enterprise – Innovate Your Business!”  The workshop featured a panel of women business owners and entrepreneurs who discussed the challenges of creating a culture of innovation to meet the demands of running their own business, and their keys to success. Panelists for this session included Ms. Krista Goon, co-founder of Red Box Studio which is a tech solutions company; Ms. Shahema Baiza-Yip, Chief Executive Officer of The Rights (Selangor) Berhad; Ms. Yuslinov Ahmad, Vice President of Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce (PMCC) and Hajjah Aishah Yeop Abdul Rahman, Vice Chairperson of Darul Hasanah Womens Welfare Board of Penang. The session was moderated by Ms. Fazlina Dato Ahmad Daud, an actress, emcée and entrepreneur.  The U.S. Embassy is a sponsor of the “Sembang Sembang” workshop series that is implemented by Warisan Global.  This “Sembang-Sembang” was updated live on the MYGEW2010 Twitter and GEWMalaysia Facebook Fan Page.  "Sembang Sembang" workshops for women entrepreneurs have been extremely popular as businesswomen and entrepreneurs have found the series educational, practical and empowering. "Sembang Sembang" will soon be extended throughout the ASEAN region, with strong interest coming from Indonesian women’s groups.