New IPR programme hoped for hardcore poor, B40 to earn extra income
04 Mar 2023 08:42am
For illustration purpose only- Foto 123RF
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His dream was however, rekindled when he received the good news last week that he was selected as a participant in the People's Income Initiative (IPR) programme which is aimed at raising the income of hardcore poor and B40 families.
"My wife and I are struggling small time night market traders selling traditional kampung dishes and we were not earning enough to cover the cost of raising a family,” he told Bernama recently.
The father to six children, Mat Nasir had planned to grow corns and open a new chapter for his family.
Through the Agro Farmer Entrepreneur Initiative (INTAN), the government will provide among other things, land and agriculture infrastructure as well as training in business, agriculture technology and marketing.
At the launch of IPR at the Cempaka Light Rail Transit station in Ampang Selangor on Feb 26, Economic Minister Rafizi Ramli said he targeted the participation of 100,000 hardcore poor, poor and B40 in the programme this year so that they can generate an income of at least RM2,000 monthly.
The programme was implemented with the cooperation of the government, people and strategic partners offering three models to generate income namely INTAN, Food Entrepeneur Initiative (INSAN) and Services Operator Initiative (IKHSAN).
Through INSAN and IKHSAN, assistance such as vending machines, trading space and equipment as well as income through cooperatives are channelled to enable them to escape the poverty line.
A participant under the INSAN model, Fatimah Affifah Alias, 41 said the opportunity to join the programme as a food entrepreneur came at the right time since she was planning to expand her business physically but was hindered by the lack of funds.
She said she went into the food business since the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) selling nasi dagang, nasi lemak, chicken rice and ayam pasu online.
"When I first started, the response was good but over time, sales dropped due to competition from other food traders. I decided to try other ways to survive and IPR presented the best option,” she said while describing the initiative as suitable because it only uses vending machines to sell manufactured products.
According to her, the self-service machine can be placed at public areas such as LRT stations and sales are monitored via mobile phones.
Sudirman Omar, 53, who was also selected as a participant in the food entrepreneur initiative, said the convenience of trading food using vending machines benefits many small businesses.
"I used to run a small stall but there were such constraints such as a long of trading hours that makes it difficult for me to do other things. But with vending machines, we have the luxury utilising the time to carry out other activities to increase our income," he added. - BERNAMA
