Creative economy opens up sustainable income opportunities for women

KUCHING, Oct 9: Creative economy or orange economy has the potential to open up opportunities for women to generate sustainable income through talent, expertise and creativity, thus contributing to Sarawak's economic growth.

Chairman of the Sarawak Chamber of Bumiputera Entrepreneurs (DUBS) Kuching Branch, Khairulnizam Mohamed Khalid said that the potential should be supported with better access to markets, financing, technology, guidance and strategic business networks.

He said that talent alone is not enough to enable women entrepreneurs to thrive in creative economies, instead they should be given the opportunity to lead, innovate and create economic value.

"We want to see more women not only participate in the creative economy, but also lead, innovate and create meaningful economic value for our communities.

"Through their contributions, we can further strengthen Sarawak's economy and support the vision of Prime Minister Sarawak through the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 towards building a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable Sarawak", he said.

She said this during her speech at the 16th Birthday Hi-Tea of Prodigy which also saw the launch of Women in Orange Economy (WIOE) fourth series, here today.

Meanwhile, WIOE Founder Sharnaz Saberi said that the program which has been active for the past two years continues efforts to empower women entrepreneurs through the Prelude Soiree event with celebrity chef, Datuk Dr Redzuawan Ismail or Chef Wan.

He hoped that the multi-stakeholder support could be continued to strengthen the women entrepreneurship ecosystem in Sarawak.

He said that WIOE was to connect the activists of various creative fields, including culinary, fashion and music, to promote collaboration and open up business opportunities.

"Through the orange economy, we want to connect creative industry activists so that they can work together and develop new opportunities in their respective fields", he said.

In attendance were the Chairman of Sarawak Media Group (SMG), Dato Norhyati Ismail; Founder of Women Leadership Foundation, Datuk Zunaidah Idris; as well as Datin Rosemarie Wong Jabu, wife of Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneurship Development, Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu.