Value-add programme
A love for coffee and green tea gave Ibni Affan Sahumin, 38, from Menggatal an idea for his product – Saidina Coffee and Green Tea.
“I now operate on a small-scale basis, producing an average of 3,000 to 5,000 bottles and cups monthly since I started my business a year ago,” he said at the ‘Enhancing Small and Medium Enterprise Growth in Sabah’ programme by Sirim and Fraunhofer.
He said the programme helped him learn more about running a business, marketing his products better and allowed him to network with other entrepreneurs.
Another participant, Asran Marasan, 38, said the programme taught him to be innovative and to use technology to market his products.
Asran came up with an improvised version of the old kapok pillows to suit the likes of the modern society.
“I started venturing into this pillow business using kapok about five months ago and my customer base has grown.
“I have learnt a lot from this programme and cannot wait to start adopting my new knowledge gained for this purpose,” he said.
Meanwhile, reknowned chocolate maker Benjamin Chew Vui Min, managing director of Simply Chocolates, was given a grant of about RM100,000 from the event’s Technology Uptake programme.
The grant is for the purchase or maintenance of his machine.
“I have been involved in various government-related development and improvement programmes for my business and Sirim is one of them.
“Today, I am very thankful to be among the few selected to receive this grant so that I can develop my business,” he said.
He said such programmes help him run his business smoothly, improve productivity, ensure the quality of his products and keeps him updated with the new standards and requirements in the industry.