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The participation of women in entrepreneurship plays a significant role in economic development especially in reducing unemployment, increasing production and consumption, achieving gender equality, social and cultural reforms. One of the dominant areas for women is batik and songket entrepreneurs who are synonymous with women on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Studies have identified three key elements that contribute to the development of this craft entrepreneur, viz. attitude, business inheritance and religious value culture. Qualitative design methods based on case studies and in-depth interviews were used in this study on 12 informants in the state of Kelantan and Terengganu in Malaysia. The findings show that there are three main factors that cause the formation of women handicraft entrepreneurs, namely attitude, family heritage and religious values. Hence, all the factors that make up a female handicraft entrepreneur in Malaysia are discussed in this article. The findings imply that increasing women entrepreneurs in handicrafts can raise the quality of handicraft products into becoming the best tourism products in the East Coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of women in business activities in urban and rural areas has been a major catalyst to the country's economic growth. Women in the East Coast, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu, are seen to be quite prominent in the business world. They are very active in two types of handicraft-based enterprises, namely batik and songket. The involvement of women in batik and songket entrepreneurship not only helps in the economic aspect of the family but also realizes their desire to become a woman entrepreneur. This research aims to determine the encouragement in the formation of women batik and songket entrepreneurs in Malaysia. The qualitative case study design was used by using in-depth interviews and observations on 12 batik and songket entrepreneurs selected through the snowball sampling method in Kelantan and Terengganu. Information obtained from in-depth interviews was analyzed thematically while observations were analyzed through the inclusion of field notes, visual pictures as well as voice recordings. The results showed that the encouragement of the formation of batik and songket women entrepreneurs, the basis is the influence of the family which consists of the process of family socialization, family skills, interests, and contributions to the family. Therefore, their involvement in batik and songket entrepreneurship can be attributed to the constant upbringing and exposure from the family to form women entrepreneurs. Through entrepreneurial activities, women entrepreneurs have the potential to generate high income for their families. The high profits earned through the batik and songket industry also encourage other women to participate in batik and songket entrepreneurship in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fourth industrial revolution era perceives the widespread use of the Internet and it is expected to be the initiators in every aspect of everyday life. Its capabilities in channelling information easily and quickly lead it as an appropriate tool to be utilized in handling problems of poverty in a country. In relation to the efforts of solving issues of poverty, especially in the rural areas, Internet technology can be employed as a tool of intervention to increase competitiveness, to empower and to change the socio-economic status of rural women entrepreneurs. This study was performed to analyse the roles and capabilities of the Internet in assisting and empowering rural women entrepreneurs to increase their socio-economy. This study involved 186 women entrepreneurs who registered with the Pusat Internet Desa (PID) and Medan Info Desa (MID) as the respondents. This study applies a quantitative approach and using a questionnaire in obtaining the respondent's feedback. Results obtained from this study have shown that 90.8 percent of respondents conclude that the internet plays an important role in increasing the monthly income. However, its usage is still low. This is due to the lack of accessibility, skills, locations, and change in individual life styles that are deterring the use of Internet. Strategies focusing on education and skills in the usage of Internet would be able to change the perceptions on the usage of Internet into a more beneficial usage in order to increase the economy of the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]