(From left) Quah and Chan with participating traders at the flea market in Cyberjaya.– SHAARI CHEMAT/The Star
AT THE height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nurul Atiqah Misran found herself jobless when she was let go by the bakery she worked at.
Desperate to earn an income, she started an online business selling doughnuts.
The venture took off. Buoyed by her success, the 29-year-old has now given her business a physical presence to triple her profits.
She is among 10 traders in Lorong Belakang in Cyberjaya, Selangor, under the “Bakers on the Go” initiative by Kuali under Star Media Group (SMG).
The venue in Shaftsbury Square is a flea market that operates on the first and fourth Saturday of every month, from 4pm to midnight.
Under the Kuali programme which was launched on Nov 26, these traders received booth sponsorship to sell their homemade products.
Atiqah said she received encouraging response on the first day of operation.
“I only prepared 2.5kg of dough but I am planning to double or triple that for my next session,” she told StarMetro.
Nurul Atiqah (left) making a sale at her booth.
Another trader Amar Miqdad Mansor Ahmad, 28, said the location was a crowd-puller as it was near several offices and two universities.
The apam balik seller said many people flocked to the venue as there were not many night markets in Cyberjaya.
“I found out about this programme by Kuali via Instagram and decided to apply for it,” he said, adding that he prepared 6kg of dough.
SMG product general manager (food vertical) Chan Kien Ming said this programme aimed to encourage small home-based entrepreneurs to expand their business into a physical operation.
“It is meant to help those who were impacted by the pandemic to earn an income and regain their footing,” he said.
He visited the traders on their first operation day with Anchor Food Professionals Foodservice director (Malaysia and Brunei) Peter Quah.
Chan said more traders had expressed interest to participate in the programme, which was an extension of Kuali’s “The Batter Place” initiative.
This is an online platform for home-based bakers to market their products via the Kuali website and app.
