Noor Arfa bags Mara Entrepreneur Award
KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Noor Arfa Holdings Sdn Bhd, the state's renowned songket and batik producer, has won the 2011 Mara Entrepreneur Award in the corporate category.
State Mara deputy director Mohd Tahir Mat Yusofh said the award, which honours outstanding entrepreneurs, would motivate Bumiputera businessmen in the state to work harder to achieve success.
Noor Arfa, which has factories in Terengganu and Melaka, was nominated for the same category by the state Mara last year, but was not successful, he told Bernama today.
Mohd Tahir said the company, which has received a lot of assistance from Mara, is helmed by Wan Mohd Ariffin Wan Long, 55, a laboratory assistant, at the Terengganu Handicraft Centre between 1974 and 1982, with the help of his wife, Noor Hijerah Hanafiah, 54.
Mohd Tahir said Mara has to date produced about 3,000 Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the state, with the number expected to swell next year.
Mara helps Class F, E and D contractors through its SPiKE loan scheme, which offers loans of up to 75 per cent of a contract value, with approval and disbursement within three days after receipt of a complete application.
Mohd Tahir said Mara has provided business loans totalling RM27.558 million and RM18.317 million under the SPiKE scheme in the state.
As part of efforts to produce more Bumiputera entrepreneurs, Mara offers courses in retail business and entrepreneurship and business loans, he said.
The SPiKE scheme and Mara's latest programme "UK Dinamik", which offers up to RM10,000 interest-free loans through its "al-qardhul hassan" financing, will help hawkers and petty traders to increase their income, he added.
| « HSBC Amanah launches 10th Klang Valley branch | | | Innovative ideas from youths helps nurture entrepreneurial culture, says scholar » |
