Widening entrepreneurial horizons
ARE entrepreneurs born or made? This question was posed to Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, the Iron Lady of Malaysian politics who shared her insights into this topic with a handful of students and staff of Berjaya University College.
Rafidah emphasised the importance of the three Ps for business sustainability – people, profit and planet.
“You must be the disruptors in the market to create new values in new markets. Entrepreneurship must be future-proof.
“Strive to be relevant today, yesterday and tomorrow,” she said during her talk.
She also stressed that to be an entrepreneur, one must acquire the right mindset, gain as much knowledge about business as possible, practise hands-on approaches in his business, and understand his stakeholders’ needs. She added that changes are taking place now and continuously.
When asked about the fear of failure to be an entrepreneur, Rafidah answered with her trademark wit and candour, “If you start life fearing failure, don’t do anything, then.
“If you want to achieve something, work out what needs to be done to achieve it. Never start anything with the word ‘failure’.”
Emeritus Prof Walter Wong, chief executive officer and vice-chancellor of Berjaya UC, applauded Rafidah on her stimulating talk.
“We are thrilled to have a
Entrepreneurs are not born.
No one is born anything – not a prime minister, not a leader and not an entrepreneur. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to understand what it takes to be one. Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz
prominent figure such as her to share a frank perspective on what it takes to be an entrepreneur in the 21st century.
We need to shift the emphasis from theory to practice and encourage innovation and creativity among our young generation today,” said Prof Wong.
Mae Ho, executive director and chief executive of Berjaya UC who also attended the talk, said, “We will foster and nurture our students’ entrepreneurial spirit more widely and provide opportunities for them to flourish in tangible ways that broader society will countenance in new products and services in our city and region.”
During the talk, Bachelor of Business Management (Hons) student Sarah Gandi Purwanto asked Rafidah, “Are entrepreneurs born or made?”
Rafidah replied, “Entrepreneurs are not born. No one is born anything – not a prime minister, not a leader and not an entrepreneur. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to understand what it takes to be one.”
Affordable studies
Berjaya UC is working towards making higher education more accessible, affordable and attainable for everyone. The National Higher Education Fund Corporation and Berjaya Business School scholarships are available for Malaysian students.
In addition, the institution’s affiliation with the Berjaya Corporation Group of Companies allows it to host the Tan Sri Vincent Tan International Scholarship and Bursary, which is available to both local and international students.
About the institution
Berjaya UC is Malaysia’s premier institution that provides excellent programmes in the fields of hospitality and culinary arts as well as business, communications, tourism, event management and hospitality management.
Situated in the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur, the city campus is located on the 11th and 14th floors of Berjaya Times Square.
Conceptually designed with a five-star hotel ambience, it is equipped with comprehensive, advanced facilities that mirror real-world settings.
For more information, visit www.berjaya.edu.my