Ekspo Balik Pulau kembali...

Menyambut penghujung Pesta Durian & Makanan di Anjung Indah dan secara amnya di sekitar Balik Pulau, akan bermula pula sebuah Ekspo Jualan di perkarangan Kompleks Sukan Balik Pulau sepanjang Jumaat, 2hb hingga Ahad, 11hb JULAI 2010. Pelbagai aktiviti keilmuan dan hiburan masyarakat akan diadakan serta peluang cabutan bertuah yang menjanjikan hadiah menarik berupa kenderaan dan barangan elektrik.

Untuk menggalakkan usahawan tempatan untuk turut serta mengambil peluang terhadap aktiviti-aktiviti perniagaan dan promosi produk masing-masing, Koperasi Usahawan Muda Pulau Pinang Bhd (KUMUDA) yang diasaskan di Balik Pulau tahun lepas, mengajak para usahawan untuk turut sama bertapak di ekspo tersebut, bersama-sama dengan para usahawan KUMUDA.

En. Nasir Sobri, pemangku pengerusi KUMUDA berkata, "Kita menggalakkan para usahawan dari hampir 300 ahli KUMUDA hari ini, mahupun bakal-bakal ahli untuk turut serta dalam aktiviti ekspo berskala terbesar ini sebagai titik permulaan untuk pemasaran bersepadu warga usahawan setempat, bukan sahaja terhad kepada 10-hari perjalanan ekspo tapi berterusan secara online dan offline".

Dengan kerjasama dengan Pusat Internet Desa (PID) Balik Pulau, sebuah agensi Kementerian Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan, KUMUDA berharap dapat menarik ratusan usahawan sedia ada serta melatih usahawan-usahawan baru untuk mengambil peluang platform Internet untuk memasarkan produk dagangan atau keluaran masing-masing ke rangkaian lebih 50,000 pengguna di seluruh negara mahupun ke luar negara.


Puan Siti Huraizah Abdul Rahman, pengurus PID Balik Pulau memaklumkan, "PID akan menggunakan platform Ekspo 10-hari nanti sebagai penutup Karnival Keusahawanan Sosial PID 2010 yang bermula sejak 1 JUN lalu, yang mana majis penyampaian sijil dan forum PID Koridor Utara melibatkan Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) dan Suruhanjaya Komunikasi & Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM), juga akan diadakan, selain sebagai salah satu aktiviti utama Kelab Usahawan Sosial PID."

Selain sebuah "Lobi Usahawan" yang sedang diusahakan di Ruang Niaga Seri Genting, Pekan Simpang Empat, KUMUDA akan mengumumkan pakej pemasaran bersepadu yang menyertakan khidmat pemasaran e-dagang tak lama lagi.

Ekspo oleh penganjur yang sama, walaupun berskala separuh saiz daripada yang dirancangkan untuk 2-11 JULAI nanti telah diadakan sebanyak dua kali tahun lepas (3-minggu di bulan Mei & sebulan di bulan November, di perkarangan Masjid Daerah Barat Daya al-Mokhtar) termasuk menyaksikan ribuan pengunjung pada malam cabutan bertuah pada 2hb Disember yang lalu dengan hadiah sebuah motosikal dimenangi oleh pengunjung remaja dari Kedah.

Lebih 50 buah khemah niaga dijangkakan akan beroperasi untuk menyambut lebih 10,000 pengunjung sepanjang tempoh sepuluh hari ekspo ini.

Ekspo sebegini menghangatkan suasana pengumpulan peniaga di Balik Pulau, menambah kepada sebuah Pasar Pagi (Pondok Upeh) juga dijangka dibuka esok, Ahad, 27 JUN 2010 di Lintang Pondok Upeh berdekatan kawasan perumahan Taman Seri Indah di Jalan Balik Pulau dan sebuah Pasar Tani kendalian FAMA di setiap malam selasa di perkarangan Masjid Daerah Barat Daya, Balik Pulau.


Tempahan booth boleh dibuat di http://ekspokumuda2010.eventbrite.com

Maklumat lanjut tentang Koperasi Usahawan Muda Pulau Pinang Berhad boleh didapati dari http://kumuda.org dan tentang Pusat Internet Desa di http://www.pid.net.my

Pusat Internet Desa Balik Pulau boleh juga dihubungi di talian 04-866-2706 setiap Isnin hingga Jumaat, 9:15 pagi hingga 5:30 petang.

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 - Balik Pulau is in!

It's here! World's largest movement on entrepreneurship will also be in Balik Pulau, BIG TIME! In fact, Balik Pulau will be the most active district/town in Penang on the week starting the 16th until 22nd of November 2009.

This full-day event is organized by Balik Pulau Social Entrepreneurs Club (KUS-BP) in collaboration with Pusat Internet Desa Balik Pulau (PID-BP) and Multimedia Development Corporation, and supported by YB Hj Muhammad Farid Hj Saad, ADUN of Pulau Betong, Balik Pulau. Other corporate supporters include Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce, TechBiz Penang, Alpha Catalyst Consulting, PBA Resources Sdn Bhd, JAP Group and Asmana Group.

See you there! Reserve your seats today, as they are limited due to space constraint.

Balik Pulau Social Entrepreneurs Club (KUSBP) got her new sets of wings...

by Nasir Sobri, Vice Chairman of KUS Balik Pulau (2009/2010)

BALIK PULAU - Kelab Usahawan Sosial (KUS) Balik Pulau organized its 2009 Annual General Meeting (AGM) yesterday at Balik Pulau Sports Complex, that was attended by over 50 people from various walks of life, including kids as young as under 5 years of age to senior citizens over 65 years of age - of course, only those over 18 years old legally participated in the election of its 2nd pro tem committee en route to become a registered society towards empowering the local community with entrepreneurial and socially-benefitting activities and ventures.

KUSBP's incumbent Chairman, En. Yuhezri bin Mohd Yusuff, 39, of Landsea Enterprise was re-elected to continue chairing the pro tem commitee, and he will be assisted by nine other committee members including four other sitting committee members namely Cik Sarina, Cik Fardilah, Puan Siti Huraizah and En. Nasir. The newly refreshed committee of KUS Balik Pulau now includes members from as young as 23 and as senior as 69 representing various adult generations in Balik Pulau.

During the first committee meeting for 2009/2010 session held afterwards, Cik Sarina bt. Ishak of Challenger Enterprise (as well as presently serving as Assistant Manager for PID Balik Pulau) and Puan Rosidah bt. Mohamad Ismail, 36, of Kesidang Rose Enterprise (maker of Kesidang Rose carbonated beverage as marketed at KUMUDA-AMAN centre) have been appointed as KUSBP's pro tem Honorary Secretary, and Honorary Treasurer respectively.

Photos from above slideshow movie can be viewed on Facebook, as linked from KUSBP's Facebook Page.

Prior during the AGM session, a Member of Penang State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) for Pulau Betong, Balik Pulau, YB Hj Muhamad Farid bin Hj Saad delivered a keynote and later officiated the meeting. In his speech, he rallied members of KUSBP to also join and support a new cooperative corporation - Koperasi Usahawan Muda Pulau Pinang Bhd (KUMUDA) that KUS has been instrumental in setting it up and supporting its early months of activities, following several meetings and dialogues since March 2009 which Muhamad Farid also participated in - KUMUDA was officially registered with Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (SKM) in June 2009, facilitated by KUS and a pro tem committee/board of directors secretariat based at PID Balik Pulau.

Besides financial contribution totalling RM1,500 to KUSBP in 2009 particularly for the Blog Bash @ Penang City, a social media sharing event held in Kongsi earlier this year, Muhamad Farid also pledged double the monetary support to at least RM3,000 for KUSBP activities in 2010. YB Farid, as he's affectionately refered to, is also a patron of PID Balik Pulau as well as an advisor for KUS Balik Pulau and KUMUDA.

The meetup at Kompleks Sukan Balik Pulau MPPP also includes a presentation by En. Hazhari from Penang Rural Development Authority (PERDA), a briefing on PID Global Entrepreneurship Month 2009 by Siti Huraizah from Pusat Internet Desa (PID) and a talk on Karnival Usahawan & ICT KUS 2009 by En. Nasir who is also the Honorary Secretary for Persatuan Usahawan ICT Pulau Pinang (ICT Penang), regional host for Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009/Malaysia.

KUS Balik Pulau has registered paid members totalling over 90 by 30 September 2009, as detailed in its AGM 2009 report. Besides, it has also received over 30 online registrations via its blog site - memberships pending confirmation and joining fee completion. KUSBP plans to register over 1,000 members within twelve months from today by not limiting it to just residents of Kongsi town/Pulau Betong village area of Balik Pulau, in order to represent at least 2-percent of adult population in Balik Pulau parliamentary area - including DUN areas of Teluk Bahang, Pulau Betong and Bayan Lepas (not including Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone and Bayan Baru) or Southwest District of Penang State - half the size of Penang island.

KUS-BP currently maintains its online presence at http://balikpulau.org (or http://bp.pp.my) and http://kusbp.pp.my besides at various social media sites with its Facebook page newly set up in October garnering dozens of fans, its Balik Pulau Group on Facebook has been joined by over 200 members, and its "@BalikPulau" Twitter identity set up eight months earlier is being followed by over 1,400 users making it into top-400 most popular Twitter identities in Malaysia (or Top-55 as of 25 OCT 2009, according to TwitterHolic). KUS-BP welcomes everyone to join its Balik Pulau Facebook Group towards populating it with at least 1,000 users by or before 10/10 '10.


What are you waiting for?
Let's activate the community and fly high, locally, nationally and globally!

Join KUS Balik Pulau TODAY:

Enter your national identification/MyKAD number to join KUS Balik Pulau and submit payment, online, for the registration fee (applicable once your membership request has been approved during subsequent official committee meetings).

(Joining fee, including first annual fee is only RM20 - includes membership and privileges (until 2010) to services at any of the 42 PIDs throughout Malaysia, worth RM10. Members of KUSBP are entitled for participating in AGMs, notifications on all activities organized by KUSBP, discounts on KUS merchandises & services, and many other benefits. Fees can be paid online using any major credit card (via Paypal) or Maybank2u etc - Refer http://usahawan.balikpulau.org for more information.)

EXTRA NOTES: The new committee with its volunteer team members are supporting back-to-back events organized by PID Balik Pulau during its Bulan Keusahawanan Global PID (22 OCT - 22 NOV 2009), as well as will host Balik Pulau's first ICT & Entrepreneurship Carnival (K-U&I) set for the weekend of 7 & 8 November, 2009.

The Carnival, which will include awards & competitions, multimedia workshops, entrepreneurial talks, flea market & computer fair, family fun day, cultural and musical shows etc. has been organized in conjuction with Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 campaign (the 7-day week starting Monday, 16 NOV 2009) as to be held at over tens of thousands venues by over 10,000 host-partners, in over a hundred countries - including by over 300 host-partners in Malaysia.

Bulan Keusahawanan PID @ Balik Pulau 2009 (22 OKT - 22 NOV)

KUS Balik Pulau welcomes more activity partners and/or sponsors for this first-ever event of its kind in Balik Pulau, set to be the biggest GEW/MUG 2009 celebration in northern region of Malaysia. Targetted audience is 2,000+ attendees on site and over 40,000 people via online and offline media. For details and progressive updates, refer http://karnivalusahawan.eventbrite.com and http://kusbp.pp.my, or contact KUS-PID Balik Pulau Secretariat (Pn Ija/Cik Sarina) at +60 4 866-2706 [phone/fax].

Inkubator telur ayam

SUNGAI RUSA – Tidak mudah berputus asa dan bekerja keras membuatkan, Awang @ Mansor Mat Hassan, 62 mampu tersenyum bangga apabila melihat usahanya kini berbaloi.

Mansor merupakan penternak ayam piru terbesar di sekitar Balik Pulau.

Dia yang sudah 20 tahun berkecimpung dalam bidang perniagaan itu telah melalui segala rintangan dan halangan untuk berjaya.

"Saya mula berjinak–jinak dalam dunia perniagaan setelah bersara daripada tentera dengan memulakan penternakan ayam daging berbekalkan modal RM196,000.

"Bagaimanapun, tidak lama lepas itu, perniagaan tergendala seketika apabila isteri kurang sihat membuatkan saya lebih menumpukan perhatian terhadap keluarga," katanya.

Sesudah itu, dia mula menjual nasi dan lauk-pauk menggunakan bekalan ayam daging yang ada ketika itu, iaitu kira-kira 500 ekor.

"Saya memang gunakan bekalan ayam yang ada kerana berhasrat untuk memulakan perniagaan ayam piru.

"Niat bagaimanapun terbantut bila harga anak ayam piru mencecah RM8 hingga RM9 seekor," katanya.

Menurutnya, dia mula berkira–kira kerana pada tahun 80-an, harga sebegitu dianggap mahal.

"Memang saya tidak mampu membeli banyak ayam piru dengan harga sebegitu. Bagaimanapun, tiba–tiba muncul idea untuk menghasilkan inkubator penetasan (hatchery incubator) sendiri.

"Saya mula merangka idea dan dengan bantuan anak, kami sama–sama berbincang dan membentuk idea untuk menghasilkannya.

"Saya sendiri yang menghasilkan inkubator tersebut. Di dalamnya terdapat mentol lampu yang menyala selama 24 jam, dan kipas kecil untuk peredaran udara," katanya.

Selain itu ujarnya, terdapat juga termometer yang akan memantau suhu inkubator agar sesuai dengan jenis telur.

Pelbagai jenis telur spesies unggas yang boleh digunakan seperti telur angsa, puyuh, merak dan ayam piru. Proses penetasan pula berbeza–beza mengikut jenis telur.

"Alhamdulillah, inkubator penetasan ini mula mendapat perhatian penduduk kampung apabila telur yang dieramkan berjaya menetas dengan bantuan inkubator tersebut.

"Setiap inkubator akan dicatat tarikh mula pengeraman dan tarikh dijangka akan menetas agar memudahkan pemantauan dibuat," katanya.

Sejak itu, Mansor mula menetaskan telur ayam kampung sebanyak 15 biji dan semakin meningkat dari hari ke hari.

Dia terus menambah bilangan inkubator kerana yang sedia ada tidak dapat menampung penetasan telur yang semakin meningkat.

SOURCE: Sinar Harian - Cipta alat eram telur ayam

Balik Pulau getting entrepreneurial...

Gerak Usahawan (an "entrepreneurial movement" programme) is an annual carnival (seminar and expositions) supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Entrepreneur & Cooperative Development (MeCD), geared as a platform for entrepreneurs to learn (from successful ones) and network among each other. This year, BP-ites is getting a taste of their own at the neighborhoods for the first time, this weekend (29-30nov08) -- with previous Gerak Usahawan having been held in Bayan Baru (@Penang International Sports Arena - PISA, July 2006) and Kepala Batas (@ Dewan Milenium, August 2007), some 20+ and 40+ minutes away respectively by driving from this remote town of Balik Pulau.

What a better time for Balik Pulau having seen aggresive development in its local commerce scene, with a new market complex and a brand new Rapid Penang bus hub opened just late last year, and just months ago, seeing for the first time, chain restaurants like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Kassim Mustafa (KM) opened in town! In fact, in recent weeks, more locals are seen to have opened new eateries including at Simpang Empat (Genting), Taman Sri Indah and near Rapid Penang bus hub, perhaps to supplement their monthly income due to recent price hikes for food and other necessities.

Not minding the brouhahas off the change in local (state) government, affecting even the organizing party for this year's Gerak Usahawan, shifted from state-owned Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to the newly set up Majlis Pembangunan Usahawan Daerah (MPUD - District Entrepreneur Development Council), entrepreneurs ("wira usaha" = "heroes", according to Indonesians) are all out to save the day, to protect local economy, if not global's. [Note however that PDC will still be running a booth at the venue this time, showing its support to the local entrepreneurs via its own set of entrepreneur development programmes].

And the local group to watch is Kelab Usahawan Sosial Balik Pulau (KUSBP) or Social Entrepreneurs Club of Balik Pulau (SECBP) with its base at the Pusat Internet Desa Balik Pulau (Rural Internet Centre - PIDBP), poised to catalyze economic and social development in the Southwestern District of Pulau Pinang by promoting and nurturing entrepreneurship skills & passions among the locals:



KUSBP is presently facilitated by Pusat Internet Desa (PID) Balik Pulau as supported by the Ministry of Energy, Water & Telecommunications (KTAK) and assisted by KTAK-appointed Warisan Global Sdn Bhd. For this event, two of Warisan Global staff are present to assist the PID and KUS teams. Visit them at Booth #C10 (in front of the main entrance of Municipal Council (MPPP)'s office) this weekend, Saturday & Sunday, 29th until 30th of November 2008, 9am until 7pm.


Gerak Usahawan 2008 will be officiated by Minister of Entrepreneur & Cooperative Development, Yang Berhormat Dato' Noh bin Haji Omar.

If this will be your first time to Balik Pulau, just drive/ride a bike along the curvacious and hilly Tun Sardon Road via Relau/Sungai Ara or Paya Terubong and once you reach the bottom end from the peak of Anjung Indah Observatory point, you'll see the white tents and the huge market complex (the largest in Penang!) on your right side of the road.

If you'll be on foot, just take a Rapid Penang bus #U401 or #401E from Weld Quay Jetty (ferry stop)/Komtar or other buses (Rapid Penang or Yellow Bus) from any bus stop on the island, and it'll take you through a 60-90 minute ride either from/via Teluk Bahang, Ayer Itam or Teluk Kumbar all the way to the Balik Pulau bus hub, situated just next to the new market complex/site for the Gerak Usahawan event -- BTW, if you need to find out how soon will a Rapid Penang bus reach you at a bus stop, call this number: 04-2381313 (Control Room).

Here's a Google map of Balik Pulau:-


To catch up on this event (posts, photos etc.), live on your mobiles, visit http://m.balikpulau.org

BP-ites participated in the inaugural Global Entrepreneurship Week

The event... (Global Entrepreneurship Week -- biggest celebration ever on "entrepreneurship", as held in 77 countries, with 13,000 activities including by over 100 partners in Malaysia during the week of 17th until 23rd of November 2008):


The photos with Balik Pulau young entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs hosting own activities throughout "The Week" as well as coming down to Universiti Sains Malaysia during the final showcase day in Penang on 22nd of November 2008:-










Keep the spirit on... Join Kelab Usahawan Sosial (Social Entrepreneurs Club) TODAY:

To register, visit any one of the 42 Pusat Internet Desa (PIDs), including one of the two in Penang, located at Pejabat Pos Balik Pulau, Pekan Kongsi, Daerah Barat Daya (DBD), Pulau Pinang and Tasek Gelugor, Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT). Get benefits including membership with PID (monthly bulletins, discounted computer/internet access, workshops, seminars, retailed items etc.) and Health Club of Balik Pulau.

Socializing Entrepreneurship in Desa Balik Pulau

The movement has begun. And the virus will spread across the country bringing the message of development for both urban and rural areas of Malaysia - self-development that is! Less than three months from today, Global Entrepeneurship Week will run across over 60 countries, with thousands of activities at regional and national levels to promote entrepreneurship as a mean to elevate economic and social status of affected communities. And these activities will not be run entirely by government or big corporations. In fact, most of these activities will be run by smaller organizations and groups of entrepreneurial people. These individuals and groups of people will strive to bring significant impacts to the local and global communities they would respectively cater to. How better can you learn entrepreneurship, besides actually getting your hands 'dirty' deep in it?

Today marked the day when the smallest ripple will spread out and virally infect the entire pool with synergized movements to create a better impact to the society, at least, in Balik Pulau. And I'm sure many more small ripples are being initiated in various villages and towns at this very moment to move the entire nation, and when nations collaborate, the entire world will vibrate. We started with a formation of Kelab Usahawan Sosial (Social Entrepreneurs Club - SEC/KUSBP) where a dozen local citizens of Balik Pulau congregated and one of the only two Pusat Internet Desa (Rural Internet Centre) in Penang (with another one in Tasek Gelugor, Seberang Perai) and agreed to push forward with its establishment as fast as possible.

En. Yuhezri Mohd Yusoff agreed to serve as a the Protem Chairman and he is to be assisted by Sarina Ishak as the Protem Honorary Secretary. The other ten attendees will serve as the committee protem executives. This small group of 'enterprising' individuals come from various walks of economic life including a farmer, a shop operator, a financial consultant, a telecentre supervisor, an IT engineer, an Microsoft-certified IT administrator, a gym operator, a government worker, a kindergarten teacher etc.

Next week, the committee will welcome representatives from Kuala Lumpur-based Warisan Global Sdn Bhd, host for Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Malaysia 2008. And in weeks ahead, expect intense discussions on activities planned for GEW Penang/Malaysia and back-to-back trainings for would-be social entrepreneurs ("usahawan sosial", as an opposed to commercial/for-profit-only entrepeneurs).

Read more about social entrepeneurship at:-

1. Wikipedia
2. WikiVersity
3. GKP's Young Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI)
   
4. UK-based School for Social Entrepeneurs (SSE) and Canada-based University of Alberta School of Business's CCSE.
   
5. Palo Alto, USA-based Skoll Foundation and its Social Edge portal
   
6. Switzerland-based Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
7. Inspired Pragmatism Blog by Madhukar Shukla
   
8. New York University (NYU) Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Program in Social Entrepreneurship
9. Telecentre.org
10. And supporting agencies including Canada-based IDRC, Swiss-based SDC, Microsoft (Unlimited Potential Program) and Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP, with Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia based Secretariat)