Noor Azizah’s shawl business thrives with help of govt loans
JEMPOL: The decision to move to Negri Sembilan with her husband was a blessing in disguise when her shawl business prospered with the help of the government’s business aid schemes.
Noor Azizah Mamat, 44, started her business in Kota Baru in 2003 using her own savings of RM45,000. However, she was upset when she had to close shop to follow her husband, a police officer, after he was posted to a new state in 2007.
When she decided to restart her business in Bandar Seri Jempol, here, Noor Azizah sold her tudung bawal by going door to door as she wanted to test the market, besides getting feedback from customers.
In 2008, she opened a shop at Arked D’Mara after being convinced of a good demand.
“I was worried to sell batik silk fabrics, which cost between RM180 and RM450, as I did not have high expectations.”
However, believing there was potential, she decided to take out a Mara loan of RM40,000 in 2008 to buy more fabric, before taking out another RM80,000 one in 2015.
She took out a RM16,000 loan from Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia as well as a RM15,000 loan from the National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund in 2008 and one worth RM50,000 in 2014.
Now, Noor Azizah earns between RM20,000 and RM25,000 a month by selling batik silk, which she sources from Kelantan and Terengganu.
Besides overwhelming response from locals here, some of her customers come from Putrajaya, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Pahang and Johor.
“The business loan facilities provided by the government have helped me get to where I am today,” Noor Azizah said.