KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) -- In a span of two to three years, many participants of the Tunas Usahawan Belia Bumiputera (TUBE) Programme have proven their mettle by making inroads into businesses, where you could hardly find Bumiputera participation in the past.

One of them is Mohd Majdi Mohd Ramlee, owner of Prowheels (M) Sdn Bhd. Currently, he has four workshops in Kedah, employs 60 workers, and has become the sole distributor of Thailand-made ZETA tyres for Malaysia.

TUBE (Young Bumiputera Entrepreneurship Programme), one of the many government initiatives aimed to assist youths and therefore encourage their contribution back to the nation, has become a launching pad for aspiring young entrepreneurs. Many of the successful participants of this programme are now earning more than RM10,000 a month.

Mohd Majdi joined the TUBE programme conducted and funded by SME Corp. Malaysia in 2014. That was after working in a government agency for four years upon graduating from Universiti Utara Malaysia, with a degree in banking.

"I had always wanted to venture into business, and the agency that I worked for provided me with the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs and taught me the bolts and nuts of starting a business," he said.

Armed with RM15,000 in the form of a grant from the TUBE programme, and some loans from MARA and SME Bank, he opened a café and a car-cum-tyre workshop. However, sales were in disarray, from both the outlets, as business was competitive.

The turning point came when Mohd Majdi met SME Corp. Malaysia's chief executive officer, Datuk Hafsah Hashim.

"Datuk Hafsah suggested that I give complimentary food and drinks from my cafe to my workshop customers. I never thought of such an idea - business picked up, earnings tripled and it changed my life!" said Mohd Majdi, who then starting planning to expand his business by importing tyres.

"I had always wanted to import ZETA tyres from Thailand. The minimum order imposed by the manufacturer was 30,000 tyres. It was not an easy task as there are many other well-known brands in the market and I knew that sales could not be achieved through my four workshops alone," he recalled.

Mohd Majdi then turned to social media, marketing through Facebook and offering free installation to customers at selected tyre workshops, if they would buy ZETA online.

Eventually, these selected shops became his tyre dealers.

He is hoping to increase the number of dealers to 400 from the current 120, with Prowheels also as the sole distributor of Achilles Motorsport 123s tyres in Malaysia, and is planning to open franchises all over the country.

According to him, there are only three per cent Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the workshop and tyre business, and he hopes to increase it to five per cent in the future by offering franchise, as well as short courses to secondary school students who can join the industry later.

"My advice to other participants is - always go for quality, as price-cutting may not be feasible in the long run. I want to help Bumiputeras who want to open auto repair workshops and tyre shops. They need to provide the location and we will help with the technical and other aspects," he said.

Another TUBE participant involved in the vehicle-related business is Affizolhadi Suria, the proud owner of a spray painting and body works firm, HVC Paint Garage in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan.

Affizolhadi was initially teaching at a vocational college in Bukit Beruntung, Selangor.

"My interest started while working in a painting garage after school, and I wanted to open my own workshop while also teaching spray painting at the college. After working for two years, I quit and joined the TUBE programme," said Affizolhadi.

With the RM15,000 grant obtained from the programme, he opened a garage and currently hires three workers to assist him.

"Most of the painting garages are owned by the Chinese. But, that does not mean that Bumiputeras cannot succeed. We need to work hard and apply the right marketing and communication skills to attract and retain customers," he said.

Affizolhadi admitted that the number of Malays in the spraying and painting business is very low and that they are not well-equipped, as well as relying solely on their work experience.

"I wanted to expand my business so that I can offer custom-made services to my clients. We need to differentiate from others, to be able to attract multi-racial clients," he said.

The young entrepreneur is also thinking big.

He is looking beyond the current business by planning to offer apprenticeship to students from vocational colleges by 2020, once the required tools and specific equipment are in place.

"By opening my place to apprentices, I want to create a pool of Bumiputera entrepreneurs. After completing their studies and apprenticeship with me, they can open their own workshops and I will monitor them for the first two years," he said.

Affizolhadi said marketing and networking are very important in the business.

He is currently sponsoring two motorsport teams, namely RUDY MENDOBUT N9 and KENO in order to promote his business.

For Nurliana Muhammad, experiences gained in working at 15 different jobs, from teaching to shipping clerk, had convinced her that running a training and motivational academy would be the right career path for her.

"I was the best student when I graduated with a diploma in medical science, in Manjung, Perak. I had a shock when my first job at a maternity hospital offered me only RM1,200. Is this my value' I asked myself," said Nurliana.

Her life changed when she saw a post about the TUBE programme forwarded through her WhatsApp.

"It was fated as I received it just five hours before the deadline. In fact, I was motivated to join the TUBE programme after seeing how successful a Mat Rempit was in the burger business after participating in it," she said.

According to Nurliana, she was exposed to the various aspects of doing business, including administration, human resource, marketing, and financial management during the three-week TUBE training which was provided by various government agencies led by SME Corp. Malaysia.

"Joining the TUBE programme was the best thing that happened in my life. They gave us guidance and motivated us. Furthermore, the RM15,000 grant is fully disbursed to us, unlike some other grants that are deducted for various other costs," she said.

Since 2016, Nurliana has trained almost 10,000 participants nationwide, along with her five assistants. She is also planning to open a one-stop centre for aspiring youths to become entrepreneurs.

She has even written and published a book on motivation and entrepreneurship titled 'Mr CEO Buat Sampai Dapat' with another TUBE participant, Amir Hakimin.

Since its implementation in 2014, the TUBE programme has recorded a total participation of 2,433 youths, out of whom 2,367 (97 per cent) participants have registered their businesses with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and started their business operations.

As of end of 2017, these businesses had recorded cumulative sales amounting to RM54.6 million and created 4,352 new jobs. In 2018, another 2,000 youths will be trained under this programme, which aims to change the mindset of youths from being employment seekers to employment providers.

This effort is in line with the goals of the Small and Medium Enterprises Master Plan in creating sustainable businesses with accumulative growth in sales.

-- BERNAMA