This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 19, 2016.

WHAT'S in a name? Founder of Women Of Will Dr Selvamalar Ayadurai would say it can make a world of difference. The non-profit organisation (NGO), which offers underprivileged women financial and mentoring support in initiating and sustaining small businesses, was formerly known as TECH Outreach Malaysia.

“As much as we tried to educate people on the acronym, we were still thought to be an IT (information technology) or tech company,” remarks Selvamalar.

On a more serious note though, along with the name change, the organisation is focusing on also making branding a priority to expand its work. Since its official registration in 2009, Selvamalar and her team have been focused on working with women under the B40 category — the 40% of Malaysia’s population whose household income per month falls below RM2,500.

“About 75% of these are women-headed households. Single mothers, widows, women whose husbands are incapacitated, not around, drug addicts, or who are unable to get enough work,” she explains.

After a stringent process that includes an interview, house visit, entrepreneurial classes at Brickfields Asia College, and an exam, the women selected are offered a zero interest loan of RM2,000. The women then have to perform weekly repayments of RM30 to ensure that they are consistent in the operating of their businesses. The money can then cycle to fund other women, with the entire cycle taking about 18 months, with a 94.5% repayment rate.

“The highlight of this strategy is the business coach and mentor system. We have volunteers who will work with them for six to 12 months, meeting them once every two weeks to help them with their business. So we don’t just give them money and send them on their way,” says Selvamalar.

First begun ad hoc in Sri Lanka in 2003 when the entrepreneurship consultant was pursuing her PhD education focusing on transforming women in adverse situations into entrepreneurs, Selvamalar begun applying the microcredit financing system — inspired by Bangladesh’s social entrepreneur Grameen Yusuf’s model — for the civil war-torn country when visiting with her professor. Soon, calls to help Malaysian women came about. After a four-year stint partnering with the local United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office to help refugee women, Selvamalar and her team turned their focus solely to Malaysian women, along with women from Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Having grown bigger and more established, the founder says a name change is due so they can look focus more on marketing and branding for women, as well as establish more partnerships with sponsors and government collaborations.

“This is really a drive by our new president elect, Datin Suet, who is very PR (public relations)-savvy. She saw the significance of rebranding and has been instrumental in our new direction,” credits Selvamalar, recounting how the president, Datin Goh Suet Lan, walked into their offices and offered to get on board after first reading about the organisation in Options, the lifestyle section of The Edge.

Helped by advertising agency Leo Burnett, Women Of Will hopes to create products under the brand to push products by its “members” into the market. “But it also means we need to make sure the quality and hygiene are good,” she adds.

“About 60% of the recipients are in the food business. The reason is when many of them come to us, the first thing they will say is ‘I don’t know what to do’. So we ask them ‘what is it you do well’,” says Selvamalar, adding that most women will reply that they can only cook or sew. Other businesses include floral businesses, provision shops, car washes, accessories and beading, or small-time lunch catering.

She cites marketing and lack of buyers as the biggest difficulty for the women. “Many of them rely on their own community or passers-by, which is limiting,” explains the founder. Women Of Will spends a significant amount of effort on creating bazaars to connect these businesses to potential customers, including printing business cards and leaflets if need be. “Our dream is to go into supermarkets and wholesalers, or even petrol station kiosks. The rebranding is part of that plan,” she adds.

Once they are stable, Selvamalar states that the women can earn double their original income or more. “If their household income monthly is RM1,500,  they can go up to RM3,000.”

Having helped 685 women in the last five years, Women Of Will hopes to reach 2,000 women in the next three years as part of its strategic plan. This includes expanding to Sabah and Sarawak, where it will also introduce contract farming. “We need contract farmers. We’ve already identified a community in Keningau, Sabah, who have the know-how for agriculture. Coming from the back end, it’s creating ready-buyers for them.”

The organisation needs a projected RM3.5 million for its three-year plan, at an average of RM2,600 per woman. Apart from challenges in raising funds, Selvamalar says it also needs volunteers. “Corporations and organisations can come in and volunteer as mentors. It’s a commitment, but anyone can do it. We will provide training.”

Despite working extensively with Sri Lankan and Nepalese women, Selvamalar says it still shocked her to find the “poorest of the poor” in our own backyard. “These are urban folks in Selangor and KL, earning only RM1,200 per month, in an area like Pantai Dalam. With all the government aid and move to uplift the lives of B40 households, how are these people being left behind? They are desperate. I’m just wondering what’s going wrong here.”

If you’re interested in volunteering with or supporting Women Of Will, or would like to find out more, visit www.womenofwill.org.my, or call (03) 7722 1518.