Kalsom bt Daud used to run a small-scale cafeteria and catering business at a school canteen in her hometown Spaoh. When she alongside her family wanted to grow the business further, she opted to do so at a larger premise in Betong town.
Despite the initial difficulty of opening a business at a place she was not familiar with, Pn Kalsom managed to sustain it to this day. Since 2015, her expanded restaurant and catering business, now popularly known as Fazzah’s Kitchen, has become a go-to place for many locals and visitors in Betong.
It was at the restaurant itself where Pn Kalsom heard from patrons of Majlis Amanah Rakyat or MARA’s existence in Betong and its various support for entrepreneur development, including grants and courses.
As her daughter Dayang Nurfarahin bt Abg Muhamad Tahir recounted in an interview with RAKAN Sarawak, through the grants applied and courses attended, Pn Kalsom was able to improve the way she operated her business, from how products were sold to how orders were taken, shifting from handwritten to a more digital, systematic manner via tablets.
These in turn had enabled her to reduce the number of workers and the amount of time required to take orders from customers.
Thanks to MARA Betong’s support, Pn Kalsom was also able to obtain halal certification for Fazzah’s Kitchen under the Halal Certification Programme of MARA Entrepreneur Development (PUSMA) in 2020 during the Movement Control Order.
Having such certification, according to Ms Nurfarahin, has helped strengthen the business, for more people, especially Muslim patrons, have more confidence in eating there.
Via PUSMA, Pn Kalsom took the opportunity to enhance the standards of her business by changing its overall marketing and branding in 2021.
Briefly describing what it entailed, MARA Betong district officer Dayang Hanisabirin bt Abang Othman revealed that the office had a consultant from Kuching to assist Pn Kalsom on the matter.
Unlike before, Fazzah’s Kitchen is now represented with a set of identifiable colour scheme used across its interior design and even its staff uniforms.
The Power of Word-of-Mouth Publicity
Intentional or not, many entrepreneurs in Betong discovered MARA Betong and its services through verbal recommendations of those who have greatly benefited from it.
Such is the case for Rohani bt Salleh, a contractor who through her company takes on construction and upgrading projects such as buildings, roads and drains in Betong and Sri Aman.
A recipient of Express Contract Financing Scheme (SPiKE) since 2017, Pn Rohani learnt of MARA offering financial schemes from her acquaintances, and so went to MARA Betong to enquire the necessary application procedures to cover the projects she was undertaking.
“Sometimes I experience low capital due to overlapping projects, as in new projects can come in even though current ones aren’t completed yet.
“With financial assistance from MARA, I can continue each project more seamlessly. At least my capital is always there – it will never break,” she said in an interview with RAKAN Sarawak, elaborating that the assistance has helped increase her business capital and ease her concerns regarding having sufficient funding for future projects.
It is through Pn Rohani that food seller and single mother Dayang Norhayati discovered MARA Betong and approached the office to seek advice on schemes available to finance her small business.
Having been borrowing under Youth / MARA Educational Institution Graduate Entrepreneur Programme (PUTRA) since 2021, Pn Dayang is grateful to have the means to increase and maintain her business capital for the purchase of kitchen appliances and ingredients as well as rental payment for her stall, among others.
“Just that at the moment the most important thing is to be able to think about how to run the business, how to get customers to buy our products. We borrow what we can (through the financial scheme),” she noted in an interview with RAKAN Sarawak. She expressed her belief that more people should be aware of MARA’s existence because the organisation provides opportunities to small business owners like her opportunities to grow their business, at least in enhancing and strengthening their entrepreneurial ability.
