CIMB continues its support for the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment agenda

21 May 2015

Kuala Lumpur: CIMB Group presented scholarships to two Bumiputera entrepreneurs who were outstanding participants of last year’s CIMB Bumiputera Entrepreneur Skills Transformation Programme (CIMB BEST).

Cik Fazeela binti Gulam Rasul and Encik Azudin bin Daem each received a scholarship to pursue the Bachelor of Business Management (Hons) in Entrepreneurship at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK). They were participants of the pioneer batch of CIMB BEST consisting of one hundred and eighty one graduates. Fazeela attended the track for new entrepreneurs dubbed the Aspiring Entrepreneur programme while Azudin attended the track for entrepreneurs with one to four years of experience, the Emerging Entrepreneur programme.

This is the second year running that CIMB Group has rolled out CIMB BEST. CIMB BEST was developed in 2014 to groom entrepreneurs in the Bumiputera community by providing them with the skills and knowledge to become more competitive in the local and global markets.

Fazeela who is in milk-products business (Milk Stop) and Azudin who is in the printing business (Hays Synergy) both received their scholarship awards from Tengku Dato’ Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, CEO of CIMB Group at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur today.

Tengku Dato’ Zafrul said, “CIMB BEST is part of CIMB Group’s corporate initiatives to help grow stronger Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Malaysia and support of the nation’s Bumiputera economic empowerment agenda, a national programme launched by the Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2013. Entrepreneurship is the very heart of all economic endeavours and it is through entrepreneurs that some of the most innovative and community-changing ideas are born. CIMB as one of ASEAN’s leading universal banks believes that we have the right resources and is at the forefront to develop potential and successful entrepreneurs with the right mind-set, skills and knowledge.”

Also present at the ceremony were Dato’ Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Bank, Hamidah Naziadin, Chief People Officer of CIMB Group, Associate Professor Dr Hafriza Burhanudeen, Director of Corporate Citizenship, UNIRAZAK, and Associate Professor Mohar Yusof, Programme Director of Bank Rakyat School of Business and Entrepreneurship at UNIRAZAK.

About CIMB BEST

Launched in September 2014, CIMB BEST consists of high-impact development programmes aimed at empowering Bumiputera entrepreneurs with knowledge on finance, business development and management, and help create access to markets and funding opportunities.

CIMB BEST offers a multi-track programme curriculum to cater for participants at different stages of business maturity such as the Aspiring Entrepreneur Programme (Program Usahawan Beraspirasi) for those who are looking at starting up or are new to business; Emerging Entrepreneur Programme (Program Usahawan Berpotensi), which targets those who are running a business but want to enhance their business skills and performance and; Leading Entrepreneur Programme (Program Usahawan Peneraju) for established entrepreneurs who are looking at business growth and expansion.

The unique feature of CIMB BEST is the rare opportunity for higher-education in entrepreneurship at UNIRAZAK. Two scholarships will be offered each year by CIMB Group to deserving graduates of the Aspiring Entrepreneur programme and the Emerging Entrepreneur programme.

In order to qualify for the scholarship, participants will have to go through a screening process. The participants will first be assessed based on their involvement and articulation skills during the programme’s lectures, group discussions and assignments. Shortlisted participants will then be interviewed by a panel comprising CIMB senior management. The winners are picked based on their leadership skills, entrepreneurial mind-set, financial management and presentation and communication skills.

This year, the three tracks will take place in May, August and October respectively. Apart from the training programmes, there will also be public-seminars conducted by successful entrepreneurs from varying industries. The first seminar entitled “An Insight into Industry Outlook, Trends and Opportunities for Tech-Based Companies” took place in April.