Thomas Tan
Southeast Asia’s business cloud, digital and ecommerce solutions provider Exabytes has recently launched the Accelerate Women Entrepreneurship with Exabytes 2022 at a virtual press conference.
The initiative with the tagline, #WomenWeCan, is part of the initiative to unlock opportunities for women entrepreneurs. It was launched in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2022 and will run for its 2nd year starting from February 2022 to June 2022.
Exabytes Group founder and chief executive officer Chan Kee Siak said the initiative will further empower women entrepreneurs in their journey to build a successful business online.
“Aligned with this year’s International Women’s Day theme, #BreakTheBias as well as the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) standards, the 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.
“These women entrepreneurs 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,” said Chan.
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.
With over 21 years of experience powering over 160,000 businesses worldwide to grow online, the company is set on its mission to accelerate women entrepreneurship.
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.
It plans to provide at least 200 women entrepreneurs from Malaysia and Singapore with the necessary tools and digital business solutions to further alleviate their business challenges.
This year, 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 the training in a 2-day workshop to be conducted in five different sessions.
Chan said the company would be sponsoring a free domain and hosting for WordPress for about 200 women entrepreneurs in Malaysia and Singapore.
“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,” she said.
Chan added, “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.”
Penang’s state executive councillor (Exco) for social development and non-Islamic affairs Chong Eng, who was also present at virtual press conference said she was pleased to support the initiative.
“I am pleased that we are able to support this initiative that would further empower women and ultimately boosting our economy. 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,” said Chong.
For more information on the programs, the eligibility for the initiative as well as to register for the programs, visit https://www.exabytes.my/women-entrepreneurship / https://www.exabytes.sg/women-entrepreneurship
C. Khor
CJMY
