Aida Zunaidi of Ibupreneur discusses how she deftly manages parenting demands with the rigours of running a social enterprise enabling other mothers to pursue their dreams
Single mothers often have to manage household duties, childcare and earning an income. The weight of these responsibilities may cause elevated stress levels and fatigue, affecting their personal well-being and capacity to take on other roles or passions.
With these challenges in mind, Aida Zunaidi and Wong Wei Qi were inspired to start the social enterprise Ibupreneur in 2019 while still in university. They were both participating in the Youth Leadership Academy programme by McKinsey and Company, which focuses on equipping young Malaysians with skills to be entrepreneurs. “We were given the topic of women’s economic empowerment, which I [could resonate with] because I grew up with a mother who had to hold our family together and was the sole breadwinner,” says Aida. “Having witnessed the drive my mother exhibited, I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”
Their social enterprise’s name combines the Malay words for “mother” and “entrepreneur”, and they had started it with just $179.
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Aida Zunaidi co-founded her social enterprise Ibupreneur with less than $200 in starting capital (Photo: Fady Younis)
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Training mothers to be micro-entrepreneurs
Ibupreneur assists mothers to become micro-entrepreneurs by equipping them with the skills and helping them to develop, market and sell their products through its online platform. It also establishes direct partnerships with hotels and corporate entities to sell the products.
The social enterprise has worked with more than 80 mothers so far. “We know we are on the right track because, even as students, our organisation has made a meaningful impact on these women’s lives,” says Aida. She adds that her efforts have paid off in helping to raise the earnings of these women from $105 to $1,474 monthly. “I know of a single mother who has been able to move from a one-bedroom flat to a larger space for her family, and can even send her children to school now.”