Budding Sri Aman entrepreneur, Dayang Jamala is seeing a rise in business after joining an e-commerce platform, namely Timogah.com last March, 2023.

Previously, she was supplying her most prominent products frozen canai and also her bumbu bubur pedas to Mydin and a few other local supermarkets. After joining the e-commerce platform as a vendor, Jamala says she has received fresh offers from three other stores around and outside her area to supply them with her products, which include Sen Sen Serian, Thi Jin Meow Serian Supermarket and Trimaju Debak.

Jamala was one of the Sri Aman Division entrepreneurs who participated in the “Program Mendigitalisasi Komuniti Akar Umbi”  that began with a one-day workshop held at the Digital Community Centre Lingga on 21st March. The programme continued with a series of follow-up mentoring by facilitator, Timogah, over the course of a few months until end of June.

Jamala pointed out, “the most significant impact I have experienced is a 50% increase in business. This can be attributed to my active promotion on Timogah.com to others”.

She added, “I had the privilege to be a speaker representing my business in the area at a program organised by Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) recently, where many people were enthusiastic about my sharing on the Timogah platform”.    

Another budding entrepreneur, from Lingga, Nangku anak Kilie, who focuses on selling traditional handicrafts is seeing encouraging development in sales whilst being a vendor with  Timogah.com. She said “I have many product requests from customers from nearby areas. I have managed to sell my crafts products to customers around my area. While there is no huge noticeable effect yet after joining Timogah as a vendor, I can slowly see that more and more people know about the craft products that I make, especially customers around my area”.   

Apparently both Dayang Jamala and Nangku experienced a growth in their business after joining as vendors of an e-commerce platform. There was also a noticeable increase in visibility of their products. Both entrepreneurs came on-board the Timogah.com platform that was introduced to them when participating in the “Program Mendigitalisasi Akar Umbi @ Lingga”.

During the one-day workshop, the Timogah team trained the vendors on online business fundamentals including how to register with the platform and how to create their online shops through hands-on sessions. About a month later, the facilitators revisited the vendors at their respective homes to teach them how to better market their products on the online platform.

Joining the e-commerce platform, also enables the vendors to conduct cashless transactions such as using Sarawak local e-wallet, S Pay Global or through online banking.

Timogah, a collaborative partner for the PUSTAKA-AZAM programme, is an e-commerce start-up based in Kuching that provides an online shopping platform whereby their customers can buy directly from local small farmers and businesses. Interested partners are also able to register themselves as vendors to market their own products on Timogah.com.

Timogah will continue to work closely with the vendors from the programme to ensure greater immersion in digitalisation among local vendors while scaling Timogah’s own business as well, contributing to a healthy local e-commerce ecosystem in Sarawak that includes active participation by rural and community based businesses.

The activity is part of the state’s on-going digital inclusivity (DI) programme previously implemented under the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) and later, under Pustaka Negeri Sarawak.  AZAM is one of the few strategic partners in the implementation of the programme that seeks to ensure that no community is left behind in Sarawak’s quest to be a digital economy.

Apart from promoting e-commerce, this year’s DI programme also aims to increase awareness on the  Sarawak Online Portal among rural communities specifically on Sarawak ID and S Pay Global and; to help accelerate community digitalisation through enhanced awareness on digital enablers such as Digital Community Centre (DCC).

Stay tuned to hear more about the vendors stories from the other programme locations – Dalat and Long Lama, on AZAM Sarawak website.

Compiled by: AZAM Sarawak

Date: 10 August 2023