SHAMSIMAR YUSOF
President

Two years ago I had humbly accepted the position of President of NAWEM and I wanted to take NAWEM to even greater heights. It is my fervent hope that I have been able to do just that and add to the accolades the organization truly deserves.  If the major events during my tenure are anything to go by, then NAWEM has made its mark as a leading women entrepreneurial organization in Malaysia.

In 2006, we organized The NAWEM Women Entrepreneur Awards (NWEA) and the culmination of this ambitious project was the 23rd July 2006 celebration of the winners. On this night, twenty-six entrepreneurs from various business sectors among the NAWEM membership were recognized for their entrepreneurial success, leadership and contribution to society. That the awards were presented by Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz added prestige to the event. The gala evening included fashion shows by leading Malaysian designers like Dato’ Tom Abang and entertainment by well-known singers such as Kathy Ibrahim.

To put together an event of this nature meant commitment and tireless work by a huge team of people. I am deeply indebted to my committee and the members and friends of NAWEM for their relentless effort and the high standards they maintained, to make this whole exercise meaningful and memorable.

The search for the top women entrepreneurs in NAWEM was an awesome task. There were many deserving women and short-listing them was not easy. Nevertheless thirteen winners were picked for various categories, from Construction and Property to Information Technology. An independent panel of judges was appointed to ensure total objectivity in the choice of winners.

The other highlight in the year 2006 was the Members’ Day event and this was on the 29th of April at Rumah Puspanita. On this day, skills and wares were displayed by members primarily for the officials of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to identify potential trainers to conduct skills training programmes for the marginalized women, a project the Ministry was about to undertake then. This showcase talent was a huge success and subsequently the programme took off the following year with many of our members chosen to be trainers.

No year is complete without the Captain of the Industry talks and in the year 2006, we were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit two Malaysian icons, Selangor Pewter and Menara KL. We had the privilege of listening to the Captains of these two corporations on what it takes to be at the helm of world-class entities.

NAWEM spread its wings and flew north to Penang for a membership drive and business seminar in 2006 at the request of NAWEM members there. A senior official from SMIDEC addressed an audience of 65 women on loan and grant schemes available for entrepreneurial activities. It was followed by a lively Q & A session and many appreciated the initiative taken by NAWEM. Fifteen members signed up as members of NAWEM on the same day. It is hoped that the momentum created will attract more women from Penang to join NAWEM in the future.

2007 was another year packed with activities, visits and programmes. The year started with a bang on the 14th of January with a Members’ Day event at Bangsar Shopping Centre. This was endorsed and supported by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. The theme for the day was “Show and Sell”.

It was at this time that Johor was badly affected by the floods and NAWEM did its part in alleviating the plight of the victims of this disaster. The amount collected was used to buy necessities such as food and blankets. I am very grateful for the generosity of the members and a special thanks to Puan Mariam Tun Sulaiman for organizing the charity drive.

As part of the national agenda to enhance human capital, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development has organized the skills development programme for marginalized women.

There is abundant evidence to show that when women are taught skills and given training. The ripples from this form of empowerment have far reaching effects and the entire society benefits. So when NAWEM was asked to play a critical role in this training programme NAWEM felt honored and was delighted to participate in the capacity building exercise for the less advantaged women. The trainers who are members of NAWEM were hand picked by the Ministry and the classes started in the later part of December 2007. Some classes are still in progress.

Last year the flagship programmes of NAWEM, namely Captain of Industry Talks, ICT and Management training and familiarization tours to government agencies were well attended by members and the feedback has been good. We went to RHB Investment Bank for an informative talk and later there were lighter moments when a Feng Shui master added to how to be “lucky “ about investments.

NAWEM also continued to offer training in the basic package in ICT at minimal cost and the response has been satisfactory.

Another important task awaits us in the year 2008.

An association, such as ours, need to go beyond the duties of serving members only. We want to be part of a bigger women agenda and provide greater exposure for all members. Our multi racial membership makes us a representative organ for government agencies to use us to promote important events that involves women entrepreneurs. In this context, I am pleased to announce that we have been asked to organize the National Women Entrepreneur Award this year by SMIDEC. This is a privilege but also a major responsibility for us. This success of this event will depends on each and every member of NAWEM. So I urge all of you to come forth and participate in one way or another as you have all done in the past and made many events extremely successful.

Besides the above we shall continue to organize member friendly events this year in the area of members’ personal development and networking.

One such initiative is the Business Clinic. Here the collective wisdom of the more senior members will be available for the new players in the game of entrepreneurship.

NAWEM is growing from strength to strength and its main goal is to be relevant to its members and FONS

Personally, I want to thank all members for giving me an opportunity to serve this organization and with your cooperation I am confident that we will have a great 2008.