The BRIDAL industry in Malaysia is continuing to grow rapidly, and women have been quick to claim their rightful spot; by shining as an empowering women entrepreneurs. Having said that, many hurdles remain for entrepreneurial women in our nation, including societal and cultural expectations, institutional barriers and access to financial capital.
It came to our surprise when the Penang Indian Wellbeing Association (PENIWA) stepped up and initiated a programme aptly billed as ’Young POWER’ by providing 12 weeks of bridal and mehendi skill training for fourteen women recently.
According to Buletin Mutiara, Peniwa chairman Arvind Poobalan stated that the POWER (Program for Overcoming Work & Education Restriction) was focused on participants hailing from the B40 group. With the support of the state government, this program is definitely a major success for the entire team on witnessing a drastic change when it comes to the development of the Indian community.
“Providing them with skills can help reduce unemployment amongst the B40 group. I hope that more digital marketing skill-related programmes will be organised in the future, seeing this has been the market trend since the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Kumaresan, the Batu Uban assemblyman who also shared information on the state’s funding and loan opportunities.
Having women with good skills empowers them with the ability to see what others don’t, do what others won’t and keep pushing their ideas and ideals despite the challenges that may come along their way.
Congratulations on your first step ladies. Long way to go!
