118 booths at Swepa’s inaugural Biz-Carnival
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Women Entrepreneur & Professionals Association’s (Swepa) inaugural Biz-Carnival 2018 elevated a group of united businesswomen to help stimulate the Sabah economy, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew.
Christina said the business carnival, which saw 118 booths being set up between December 6 and 7 at Wisma Wanita here, was organized as a platform for Sabah women and young entrepreneurs to network and learn from each other, in line with the Swepa’s ‘Women Helping Women’ motto.
“In this ever more challenging and competitive economic world, it is indeed important that we lend a helping hand to each other, not just to achieve our own goals, but also to support our counterparts in attaining their success as well,” she reminded when launching the Swepa Biz-Carnival 2018 opening ceremony at Wisma Wanita here yesterday.
“Transformation and empowerment cannot be done by an individual alone. It can only be achieved with the force of unity.
“Therefore, events such as Swepa’s inaugural Biz-Carnival where you have business pitching session and product launching by new entrepreneurs is vital to provide accessibility, nurture, and bring Sabah’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises together, which in turn will elevate and stimulate our economy.
“Other than that, I applaud Swepa’s openness to the changes brought by modern technology by also introducing E-sport as part of their activities to attract the younger tech savvy crowd by collaborating with Kolej Kemahiran UMS. It is undeniable that the advancement of technology has transformed, not just the way we communicate with each other but also the way we conduct our business,” she said.
Christina added that the people must be willing to accept and equip themselves with new mean, devices and the know-how in the face of tidal shifts.
Swepa president Datuk Aminah Ambrose hoped that the program,which saw the launching of 11 products by Sabah women entrepreneurs, would not only become an annual Swepa event, but also part of the Sabah Tourism Calendar.
“I believe this is only the beginning. I know I still have a long way to go to truly fulfill my presidential theme (Unite, Transform and Empower) especially when it comes to transforming and empowering women,” she said.
“I wish to also seek the support of YB Datuk Christina’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment of Sabah in terms of funding so that we can organize more training and programs to further enhance and harness the skills, talents and abilities of women in Sabah,” added Aminah.