Mawan (right) speaking to (from second right) Dr Dusit, SDGA vice-president Eli Luhat, Carolina and Sarawak Dayak National Union vice-president Anthony Banyan. At left is Michael. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: Women Entrepreneurship Conference 2014 will serve as a platform for small business owners and leaders from across the country to compare notes on how to grow their business.
The two-day event will be held at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus beginning today.
Among others, there would be sessions to enable delegates to gain new perspectives on the importance of networking and social skills.
Jointly organised by the university together with the Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA), the conference, said Minister of Social Development Tan Sri William Mawan, was appropriate and timely.
“This conference encompasses entrepreneurship skills and topics that are quite new to Dayak women. I believe this effort deserves the support of everyone,” said Mawan when SDGA leaders paid a courtesy call on him yesterday.
He later presented a grant of RM10,000 to the organising committee and urged other agencies and private individuals to chip in some funds as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
More funds, he said, would enable the organising committee to collaborate with local and international players in order to reach out to a wider audience.
Also present was the conference’s organising chairperson Carolina Sandra Giam, who said 250 people had confirmed attending.
She added that 25 per cent of the delegates would be from government agencies and departments, 60 per cent from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the rest university students.
Carolina said there would be 16 booths on the sidelines for exhibitors from banking institutions and women entrepreneurs to promote their products and services.
The topics to be deliberated during the conference, themed ‘Creating and sustaining women entrepreneurship through the art of networking’, would include ‘Women Entrepreneurs: Achieving work-life balance with flair!’, ‘Women and entrepreneurial networking and its implication to business performance’, ‘Social networking: Its increasing among women entrepreneurs, ‘Social skills: The important aspect of social capital’.
A panel session will also be held to discuss the role of NGOs and government support agencies on the availability of resources and assistance.
“This is to create awareness and get women to know the availability of funds. We find that this (financial backing) is one of the biggest challenges faced by women entrepreneurs,” said Carolina.
Senate deputy president Senator Datuk Doris Brodie is scheduled to declare open the conference while Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim is expected to officiate at the closing ceremony tomorrow.
Meanwhile, SDGA president Dr Dusit Jaul said they would also be organising an appreciation dinner for their members, associations and political leaders who had been very supportive of the association.
The dinner, he said, would be held in conjunction with their triennial general meeting, which will be held on March 29 at Telang Usan Hotel here.
During the courtesy call, Mawan also handed RM10,000 to St Michael Church in Kampung Sudoh, Singai.
Building committee member Michael Sitem received the grant on behalf of the church.