Palm | Kelapa Sawit

THE Tunas Mekar Project, an initiative of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is a smart partnership arrangement between Bumiputera graduates and SME entrepreneurs.

Its two main objectives are to improve the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises and to expose graduates, especially those from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), to the world of entrepreneurship.

"Graduates are placed with SMEs as apprentices for one year, where they will learn new management techniques.

At the same time, they will gain valuable hands-on experiences that will help them later on in their own businesses," said project director Prof Madya Sodri Ariffin.

"During the internship, they are also paid a monthly allowance of RM800, with the entrepreneurs also providing accommodation or allowances."

"A lecturer from UiTM is also appointed as counsellor to provide advice."

The Tunas Mekar project, a collaborative effort between UiTM and the Implementation and Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister's Department, was started in Penang in 2005, and followed by Wilayah FELDA, Terengganu, Kedah, Johor, Kelantan, Malacca, Pahang and Selangor.

A total of 245 graduates were involved in the first phase. Based on impact studies in July 2007, 90 per cent of entrepreneurs and 95 per cent of students are satisfied with the project while 82 per centof the entrepreneurs reported an improvement in sales and profit levels.

Presently, more than 150 graduates from the programme have started small businesses, including operating restaurants, grocery shops, cleaning services, construction company, photography shops, beauty services, printing, computer sales and child care services.

Most of them earned a net profit of between RM2,000 and RM4,000 a month and employed between three and four workers.

There are also at least 10 outstanding entrepreneurs who are earning more than RM10,000 a month.

Their experiences with Tunas Mekar have proven to be a valuable asset when applying for financing from banks and funds.

Following the successful implementation of the pilot project, the government has allocated additional funds for the project to be implemented in all states and, to date, a total of 480 graduates have been enrolled in the second phase.

"The number students who dropped out was fairly high in the first few months of the programme, as many were not up to the rigorous demand of being entrepreneurs.

"However, the rate was reduced when we interviewed and selected only those who have a deep interest in entrepreneurship and business careers."

"Graduates chosen for the project must aspire to become entrepreneurs and are imbued with entrepreneurial characteristics that make them determined, hard working, resilient, adventurous and willing to take calculated risks.

"Generally, the chosen graduates are good human resource materials whom we believe have a high potential to be successful entrepreneurs.

"Given the opportunity through Tunas Mekar, they will learn the ropes fast and I will not be surprised if they emerge as business leaders in the country one day."

Source: NST