KUALA LUMPUR: Upholding its mandate to encourage Bumiputera participation in the economy and in line with creating strong Bumiputera entrepreneurs and sustainable enterprises, Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas), through its ILTIZAM Catalyst Programme, has accelerated business growth for 38 Bumiputera SMEs across diverse business sectors, since the programme’s inception in 2022.
Speaking at a ceremony celebrating the achievers of ILTIZAM Catalyst 2023, Dato’ Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir, Chief Executive Officer of Ekuinas, said, ” As a private equity firm, we recognise the common, and the unique challenges faced by SMEs. We understand their journey. ILTIZAM Catalyst is an initiative to empower, strengthen and accelerate Bumiputera businesses. We allocated RM1.2million for this 12-month programme. SMEs are the backbone of the economy. Through this structured framework, which focuses on four technical and fundamental business areas – finance and compliance, branding and digital marketing, technology adoption, and leadership, we are empowering Bumiputera entrepreneurs to shift from mere ‘survival’, to competing, growing sustainably, and carving a niche in their respective industries.”
With its core business in private equity investment and aggressive value creation for its portfolio companies, Ekuinas understands the common denominators that make or break a company – and these core areas are addressed in ILTIZAM Catalyst as they are the pain points commonly faced by SMEs. The 12-month programme combines assessment, technical and non-technical training by expert consultants, mentorship by industry leaders and monitoring, aimed at helping entrepreneurs strengthen business fundamentals and chart strategic and sustainable growth.
“To track the effectiveness of the programme, we introduced five key performance indicators (KPIs). This is the second batch completing the programme and we see its growing impact. Based on the KPIs set, I am pleased to share that for Catalyst 2023, 100% of the companies gained improved clarity in their business direction, 94% improved their entrepreneurial and leadership capabilities, 71% experienced improved brand presence and business visibility, 59% recorded an increase in product profitability; and 29% improved their financial strength and business compliance. Nine out of the 17 companies achieved at least four of the five KPIs set.
“Ekuinas will continue our mission to create a thriving ecosystem for SMEs. The success of all participants completing ILTIZAM Catalyst 2023 today reflects the transformative effect of our programme,” Dato’ Syed Yasir Arafat commented.
Among the notable companies this year was Splashtastik, water enthusiasts who began their business in 2017 to address the need for swimming classes for babies. Nurzieyana Shazmin, Director of Splashtastik said, “Being part of Catalyst has significantly impacted our business growth, notably by transitioning from a part-time home-based operation to a structured business. I’ve been to many business courses but ILTIZAM Catalyst is different as there are very specific areas of assistance. We managed to complete our branding story, paving the way for more effective advertising. Now, we are able to present our company with a better vision. Our financials have also improved tremendously. We are beyond grateful to be part of ILTIZAM Catalyst 2023. The guidance from experts in the field is invaluable!”
Another success story is Benefigs, a producer of locally grown figs. Mohamad Hafidz, Chief Executive Officer of Benefigs shared “The biggest advantage we have is that figs thrive with our technology in Malaysia as it is non-seasonal and produce fruits everyday. We seized this opportunity in 2020. One of our challenges was that there were no established reference point, as fig farming is relatively new in Malaysia. Through Catalyst, we reidentified our target market, restructured our business, aligning it with our accounts, and enhanced our marketing with social media, steering our company towards a clearer direction. Our operations now span fig fruit production in upstream, eco-tourism in midstream, and we are hopeful that in the future, Benefigs will transform into a multifaceted enterprise, expanding into consumer products like shampoos and lotions with fig base.”
Catalyst alumni from the 2022 batch, Jiham Kaligrafi, an Islamic art and design company has seen ups and downs in the business which began as a hobby in 2015. Following their participation in Catalyst, Mohamad Azham Shah Bin Johari, its Managing Director acknowledges the significant improvements recorded. “Catalyst provided us with a system to better manage our staff, clients and suppliers. Like many entrepreneurs, we were focused on our goals, without a structured strategic framework. Combining clear goals with the systems provided in the programme has enabled us to more effectively achieve our objectives. We’ve also experienced strong customer engagement at our Southville outlet, coupled with consistent online orders through our social media promotions.”
Another alumni, Nor Sa Adah Ghzali also known as Adda Uwais, CEO of Keto Diet Sifu shared, “The business development module has helped reduce my operational cost and enhanced my business model. It may seem like a simple shift, however this brought significant impact to our sales. On the financial front, we were exposed to a scoring method, so we now have an indicator for the company’s financial standing. Looking forward, we are working towards establishing a retail store to provide easy access to healthy food.” Keto Diet Sifu introduced its EatSlim platform in 2017 and today they offer ready to eat meals, which are diabetes and GERD-friendly.
Application to participate in the next programme, ILTIZAM Catalyst 2024 is now open until 15 August 2024. Bumiputera SMEs in manufacturing, food & beverage, retail, education, agriculture, healthcare and other services, which are registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, have an annual revenue between RM300,000 to RM1 million with a profitable track record over the last two years, are encouraged to apply. Visit https://iltizam-catalyst.ekuinas.com.my/ to learn more about ILTIZAM Catalyst.
ILTIZAM is Ekuinas’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm that undertakes sustainable development efforts by reaching out to the wider Bumiputera community via three pillars, namely, Education, Entrepreneurship and Community programmes. In 2023, Ekuinas through ILTIZAM, disbursed a total of RM13.8 million through its initiatives benefitting a total of 74,000 individuals, families, entrepreneurs and businesses across Malaysia. Of this, RM3.3 million was channelled towards entrepreneurship efforts. This brings Ekuinas’ total expenditure under ILTIZAM to RM100 million since its inception.
