AIG Malaysia partners Junior Achievement Malaysia to drive entrepreneurship among school children
AIG Malaysia Insurance Bhd has partnered Junior Achievement Malaysia (JA Malaysia) for the Young Enterprise Programme (YE Programme) to teach school children financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
The initiative was put in place as a result of a global partnership between AIG Corporate and JA USA.
AIG presented JA Malaysia with a US$10,000 (RM41,500) grant and the funds will be used to support JA’s programmes that prepare students for the real world in terms of money management skills, entrepreneurship and other workforce development skills, the insurer said in a statement.
With 10 years of presence in Malaysia, JA is the largest global non-profit organisation dedicated to helping youths improve financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.
JA Malaysia is supported by the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and reaches out to more than 31,000 students in 430 schools in 2018.
The YE Programme allows aspiring secondary school students to experience the complete lifecycle of a company by allowing them to set up a mini company and develop a product.
Over the span of eight months, tudents work in a team for various business development activities including research and brainstorming, designing a product line and eventually producing and marketing their own products.
Recognised and supported by the Ministry of Education, the programme is run as a weekly two-hour extra curriculum programme and offers students a hands-on opportunity to experience business practices and to gain valuable skills in entrepreneurship, teamwork and leadership.
The programme, running from January to August 2019, will peak in an annual sales fair in September, where students showcase and sell the products that they have developed, and will culminate in an annual showcase that celebrates the journey as well as performing enterprises in terms of best share growth, best annual report and best financial report.
The overall winning team will represent Malaysia for a regional Company of the Year competition with other participating JA countries such as Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand.
AIG Malaysia adopted SMK Peta- ling, Jalan Klang Lama, in Selangor for 2019 and provided corporate advisors as mentors to the students. The advisors will guide and provide practical advice to students in areas of marketing and sales, finance and administration, human resource (HR) development and planning.
AIG Malaysia CEO Antony Lee said: “As a company that has invested in Malaysia’s growth, we believe it is our responsibility to foster the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and prepare young aspiring Malaysians for the corporate world through continuous educational support.”
JA Malaysia chairman Stuart Dean said the mentorship provided by companies such as AIG for the YE Programme has the potential to impact the lives of young Malaysians and transform them into future successful business leaders.
AIG supports its employees’ commitment to strengthening communities by matching and doubling employee philanthropic contributions by up to US$5,000 per calendar year and providing them with two paid volunteer days a year.
In 2018, AIG said its employees helped make a collective impact in communities worldwide by volunteering more than 62,000 hours, with 13,000 hours donated over 161 volunteer projects for the Global Volunteer Month in April alone.
