KUALA LUMPUR: The Covid-19 pandemic has affected economies worldwide but initiatives to help boost the local economy have also brought about silver linings for some entrepreneurs.
The 'Buy Malaysian Products' campaign launched by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on July 18 has helped numerous local small- and medium enterprises (SMEs) to stay afloat during these trying times.
For entrepreneur Mohd Rozailmee Zulkeply, the brains behind SWAG Pomade, his participation in the campaign has helped boost SWAG product sales.
Speaking to New Straits Times, he said his company had joined the entrepreneurial training programme offered by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) since the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey.
"I got the idea to start producing and selling pomade hair wax in 2016. At that time, I realised that we didn't see much locally-made pomades and most of those in the market were China-made, with strong fruity scents.
"So I took a leap of faith and came up with SWAG, which offers a more masculine scent and with better ingredients to suit different types of hair.
"When I first registered my company four years back, KPDNHEP was helpful enough to offer us to join numerous training programmes," he said.
The managing director of Sakura Industries from Kuala Perlis said the ministry has helped his company in conducting their own research and development process for SWAG.
"Other assistance includes training us on how to come up with our own business modules, marketing our brands on social media or television, brand packaging transformation and even inviting us to present our product at expo exhibitions.
"They even helped waive the hypermarket listing fees for us, which eventually helped us to set up a physical kiosk in Pavilion KL for three months," he said.
Rozailmee said the campaign has helped him to communicate with his customers directly.
"I was more than happy to find out that we can promote our product under the Buy Malaysia Product Programme, which we have been actively participating in since 2017.
"We have had great opportunities and plenty of experiences through this programme, and we are actively gathering feedback from our customers for our product betterment.
Rozailmee said the pandemic has contributed to an almost 65 per cent decline in sales at their physical kiosk located in shopping malls.
"However, our product sales on e-commerce recorded over 35 per cent growth since the Movement Control Order started.
"We have kick started our own website at www.swag4men.com while upgrading our online platforms such as Facebook, Shopee or Lazada to better serve our customers.
"Recently, we held a dialogue session with the ministry, together with other local entrepreneurs where we were given a platform to voice our worries over declining sales or having to give up our businesses due to Covid-19.
"It was good to be heard and we can see that they are listening and doing their part in helping us to stay afloat".
Currently, SWAG Pomades are sold at major hypermarkets including Tesco, Malakat Mall, Selangor and more.
Rozailmee had hoped for the government to continue with the programme which will help more entrepreneurs especially in facing post-Covid-19 times soon.
Another local entrepreneur popularly known for locally made Nourel Nougat candy, Asian Bites PLT shared the same views on the assistance offered by the ministry for local SMEs during these trying times.
Its managing director, Nurazlina Abu Bakar, 34, said the ministry was among the local agencies that have helped provide programmes and training for local SMEs to kickstart their entrepreneurial expedition.
"My husband and I decided to try our luck in producing our own nougat candy, after we came back from visiting my husband's hometown in Hui Zhou, China in 2016.
"We tasted Taiwanese Milk Nougat candy, which I found so mouth-watering and it tasted different from Australian or Middle Eastern produced candies.
"When we came home, we decided to make these candies and sell them to our close relatives and friends.
"In 2018, my relatives in China and I decided to create a partnership company and register it to sell nougat candy to our local markets," she said.
The partnership is currently focusing on selling eight different flavours of nougat candies, in which it was selected to receive a grant for Product Transformation from KPDNHEP.
"The grant received was to help us improve our brands and packaging, for better preparation to penetrate bigger markets such as hypermarkets or export markets.
"We have also followed a training programme offered by KPDNHEP, the 'Penetration to Hypermarket' programme which gave us an insight on the process to get our products marketed in major hypermarkets such as Tesco or Mydin.
"These training sessions have helped us a lot, especially on brand awareness and how we can improve our brand exposure strategies to the public," she said.
Nurazlina said the ministry is helping her company stay afloat during Covid-19, through participation in their SME Digital Advertising and Promotion Programme, which has helped them to better strategies for their product marketing on e-commerce platforms.