Kota Kinabalu: A total of 4,026 women entrepreneurs have benefited from various entrepreneurship programmes implemented by the Sabah Women Affairs Department (Jhewa) since 2022.
State Women, Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk Julita Majungki said the programmes included training, entrepreneur promotion, equipment grant assistance and marketing initiatives aimed at strengthening businesses and expanding market opportunities.
She said the achievement reflected the positive impact of sustained efforts to empower women economically in Sabah.
“This achievement is a clear illustration that the economic empowerment efforts for women, carried out on a sustained basis, have made a positive impact in producing more women who are bold enough to venture into entrepreneurship.
“This effort needs to be continued so that more women are not only able to start businesses, but also able to grow from small enterprises into more competitive businesses,” she said at the launch of the Blooming Womenpreneurs Gala 2026 here, recently.
Julita called for stronger cooperation among government agencies, financial institutions, the private sector and strategic partners to provide women with greater access to knowledge, resources, technology and markets.
“Development of women entrepreneurs requires support from the entire ecosystem,” she said.
She said economically empowered women could improve their own standard of living while contributing to their families, communities and Sabah’s development.
The ceremony also saw the launch of BizBloom, the rebranded Jhewa entrepreneurship platform aimed at further strengthening support for women entrepreneurs in the State.
Julita also presented the Sabah Women Entrepreneur Awards to four recipients.
Craft entrepreneur Renny@Anna Jeneble@Damis received the Social Entrepreneur Award, while Tasyareena Jekar received the Creative Arts Entrepreneur Award.
Professional photography and videography entrepreneur Ramlah Ahmad was named Potential Young Entrepreneur, while cosmetics entrepreneur Sitti Fatimah Janna received the Women Entrepreneur Icon Award.
Meanwhile, Sabah Women’s Affairs Department (Jhewa) director Haslina Ismail said the Blooming Womenpreneurs Gala 2026 is an appreciation programme organised by Jhewa as a platform to celebrate the achievements of women entrepreneurs mentored by the department, as well as women entrepreneurs across Sabah who have demonstrated outstanding performance, commitment and achievements in their respective fields of business.
She said the programme is held biennially as a platform to recognise women entrepreneurs who have worked hard to develop their businesses across various sectors, while also providing them with opportunities to showcase their success stories, innovations and contributions to the economic development of Sabah.
“Apart from celebrating their achievements, the programme also serves as a platform to expand collaborative networks among women entrepreneurs, government agencies, strategic partners and stakeholders involved in the development of entrepreneurship.
“Through the relationships and partnerships established, it is hoped that more opportunities can be created in areas such as mentorship, marketing, financing, capacity building and business expansion for women entrepreneurs in Sabah,” she said in her in the event here.
According to Haslina, three major recognitions are presented as a token of appreciation for the efforts and achievements of women entrepreneurs.
“The first is the ‘Homebased Entrepreneur Award’, which recognises entrepreneurs who operate their businesses from home.
“Although they may not yet have physical business premises, they have successfully marketed their products and services to several locations and demonstrated their ability to expand their businesses through consistent efforts.
“The second is the ‘DLedger Entrepreneur Award’, presented to entrepreneurs who actively use the DLedger System, a bookkeeping and record management system developed by the Sabah Department of Women's Affairs to help entrepreneurs manage their business financial records in a more systematic and organised manner.
“The third is the ‘Sabah Women Entrepreneur Award’, which features four main categories namely Social Entrepreneur, Creative Arts Entrepreneur, Promising Young Entrepreneur and Women Entrepreneur Icon,” she said.
Haslina said award is open to women entrepreneurs throughout Sabah as a platform to recognise the diversity of business fields and the achievements of women who have made a positive impact on society and the local economy.
