This program aims to empower at least 200 women entrepreneurs from Malaysia and Singapore with fully sponsored digital business solutions.
PENANG, 1 March 2022 – Exabytes, Southeast Asia’s leading All-in-one Business Cloud, Digital and eCommerce solutions provider continues its effort to unlock opportunities for women owned businesses with the launch of its Accelerate Women Entrepreneurship with Exabytes 2022 initiative in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2022. This initiative is supported by YB Chong Eng, Penang State Executive Councillor (EXCO) for Social Development and Non-Islamic Affairs, who was also present during the virtual press conference. With the tagline, #WomenWeCan, this initiative will run for its second year starting from February 2022 to June 2022.
Exabytes, with over 21 years of experience powering over 160,000 businesses worldwide to grow online, is set on its mission to accelerate women entrepreneurship by providing at least 200 women entrepreneurs from Malaysia and Singapore with the necessary tools and digital business solutions to further alleviate their business challenges. Exabytes will be sponsoring a total of RM400,000 or S$400, 000 in the form of products and services for this initiative in Malaysia and Singapore respectively.
The success of the previous #WomenWeCan initiative in 2021 has inspired Exabytes to continue the initiative this year. In 2021, Exabytes has nurtured 100 women entrepreneurs with free business websites or online store creation with an estimation of RM350, 000 or S$350, 000 in Malaysia and Singapore respectively.
CEO & Founder of Exabytes Group of Companies, Chan Kee Siak, said that this initiative will further empower and impact more women entrepreneurs in their journey to build a successful business online.
The efforts by many parties and organisations in inculcating the population towards engaging the entrepreneurial venture have seen success with an increasing number of entrepreneurs in Malaysia and Singapore regardless of gender. Although women entrepreneurs have become more important players in the entrepreneurial landscape, the number is still small as compared to businesses owned by men.
“Aligned with the International Women’s Day theme this year #BreakTheBias as well as the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) standards in encouraging and facilitating an environment that embraces diversity and inclusion of women in the labour force, this initiative aims to promote equality between the status of men and women in entrepreneurship as well as boosting financial security and financial independence for homemakers who venture into businesses, who can then become role models for younger girls and provide them with confidence in business and life. Ultimately, we want to empower the community through these inspiring women who are after all – our pillars, whether at home or at work”.
Supported by the Penang State Executive Councillor (EXCO) for Social Development and Non-Islamic Affairs for the second year in a row, this initiative is a continuous effort to speed up the adoption of digital technology among SMEs and female business owners.
YB Chong Eng, the Penang State Executive Councillor (EXCO) for Social Development and Non-Islamic Affairs said “It is in our best interest to support initiatives that would further empower women, and ultimately boosting our economy. We understand that this initiative has been a success last year, and we are confident that this year’s initiative will yield greater results for the women participating in it. I am pleased that we are able to support this initiative, and I am excited to see these women grow. Our office always takes gender perspectives into consideration in all our decision-making, planning and administration processes. With initiatives like this, we are ensuring that equal opportunities are given to both men and women.”
This round, instead of providing the entrepreneurs with a ready-to-use website, the initiative will provide the entrepreneurs with an opportunity to build their own website through a workshop consisting of two modules at zero cost. The “How To Build Your Website in Two Days” Workshop is in partnership with PolarisHub who will be providing this training throughout the initiative’s period. This 2-day workshop will be conducted in five different sessions from the month of February until June 2022.
“We believe that our range of digital and cloud hosting solutions would be well suited to meet the needs of entrepreneurs in building their digital presence and achieving protection, profitability and productivity for their businesses. We will be sponsoring a free WordPress Hosting and domain for at least 200 women entrepreneurs in Malaysia and Singapore for this year’s initiative”.
“Looking into the positive feedback received from last year’s participation, this initiative has helped the women entrepreneurs with gaining wider business exposure as well as boost their target market. Hence, we strongly believe that this year’s improved, specially curated initiative will be able to further empower women and enhance the SME landscape.”
“As a company that was once a startup, it is Exabytes’ dream to fully give back to the local community as well as ensuring that our initiatives are inclusive. This is also aligned with the first theme of our 21st Anniversary Campaign which is Dream. We want to be the enabler for these women entrepreneurs to grow their dreams into reality” added Chan.
Following are the programs that will take place during the five-month initiative:
Programs | Description |
Hands on Workshop: How to Build A Website In Two Days | This workshop is in partnership with PolarisHub, who will be conducting the training for the workshop. The workshop will be held for 2 days, every month. The dates of the workshop are as follows:
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Sharing Session – Learn from the Experienced 1: When Is The Right Time to Have A Website For My Business | The speakers of this sharing session are Vanessa Ong (Founder of Gernise Global & Mamashop) and Valerie Aw (Founder of Aestival Elements). This sharing session will be held on 7 April 2022. |
Sharing Session – Learn From The Experienced 2: What Every Business Have And Needs | The speaker for this sharing session is Sher-li Torrey (Founder and Director of Mums@Work and Mumpreneurs Go Places). This workshop will be held on 5 May 2022. |
WebDev for Aspiring Women 2022 | This challenge is in partnership with Penang Tech Dome, who will be organising the challenge for Form 3 – Form 5 school students in Malaysia. Exabytes will be sponsoring the workshop, domain and hosting for all participants of the challenge, as well as cash prizes and medals. This challenge is only open in Malaysia. |
Digital Resilience Workshop | This workshop is in partnership with SheLeadsTech, which will be conducted in June. |
Accelerate Women Entrepreneurship with Exabytes will run throughout February until June 2022 and is open to any women in Malaysia and Singapore. For more information on the programs, the eligibility for the initiative as well as to register for the programs, please visit www.exabytes.my/women-entrepreneurship | www.exabytes.sg/women-entrepreneurship