16 March 2023
Seed funding of RM350,000 will be channelled towards training and development of university graduates under The Melon Manis Terengganu Graduate Agropreneur Programme
Kuala Lumpur: CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (“CIMB Islamic”) today announced that it has signed a tripartite agreement with Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan (“YDSM”) and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (“UniSZA”) for the Melon Manis Terengganu (“MMT”) Graduate Agropreneur Programme. The programme will provide comprehensive training and development for university graduates to tap into agriculture-based careers and opportunities.
Under this agreement, CIMB Islamic will contribute seed funding of RM350,000 to YDSM as the programme coordinator, whilst UniSZA will be facilitating the programme and monitoring it to fruition. The MMT is a fast-growing plant which takes 60 days to mature with the potential to be harvested approximately three to five seasons per year. This initiative is expected to benefit close to 20 graduates with two fertigation facilities that can cultivate over 1,500 melon plants per greenhouse each season.
The signing ceremony took place at Istana Syarqiyyah, Kuala Terengganu and was witnessed by KDYMM Sultan Terengganu, Al-Wathiqu Billah Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah. Signatories representing the three parties were Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic, Dato’ Haji Mohd Fadzli Yusof, YDSM Board of Trustee member and Professor Dr. Fadzli Adam, Vice Chancellor of UniSZA, marking the official commencement of the MMT Graduate Agropreneur Programme.
Ahmad Shahriman said, “We are pleased to be supporting the MMT Graduate Agropreneur Programme in partnership with YDSM and UniSZA. This platform will enable graduates to venture into a commercially viable and high-tech agriculture industry, whilst creating more resilient and future-proof agropreneurs. This supports CIMB Islamic’s commitment towards value-based intermediation as a responsible Islamic banking institution through initiatives that generate long-term positive impacts to society and the economy. Through our contribution, we hope the programme is able to support the Government’s agriculture sector transformation and inclusive growth as we collectively do our part in providing university graduates with technical know-how and opportunities in the industry.”
UniSZA, together with Koperasi Permodalan Sahabat Terengganu Berhad will be providing graduates with end-to-end training in melon production to ensure the graduates pursuing this field are equipped with the necessary knowledge, tools and skillsets upon market entry with promising domestic and export markets.
