Datuk Seri Saravanan Launches Masala Wheels Social Enterprise Initiative, Empowering B40 Community With Jobs

Masala Wheels, an accredited social enterprise empowering marginalized communities since 2015, is expanding its slate of capacity building programmes to future proof local changemakers with a digital-driven economy. Distinctive for its focus on grassroots capacity development, Masala Wheels is a social enterprise founded to feed and empower marginalised communities through capacity building and employment opportunities in the F&B business, with a key focus on poverty alleviation through economic models.

Recently, Masala Wheels, which has garnered over 20 awards both locally and internationally, successfully launched three cloud kitchen models, namely restaurant-, mall- and home-based cloud kitchens. They’ve identified deserving individuals including home-based beneficiaries to operate the models, and who will eventually be independent entrepreneurs themselves. This project aims to empower and provide income generation opportunities to deserving individuals from the B40 community, including single mothers and individuals who’ve lost their jobs during the pandemic. 

In conjunction with the celebration of Masala Wheels’ 7 years of social entrepreneurship in Malaysia, they launched the cloud kitchen initiative in partnership with MRanti on 20th February 2022 with much pomp and grandeur. The event was honoured and officiated by Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Minister of Human Resources alongside Dato’ Shahira Ahmed Bazari, Managing Director of Yayasan Hasanah. The launch witnessed the full ownership transfer of Masala Wheels Restaurant by Pepper Labs, the parent company to a group of beneficiaries and a mock key handover from Edmund, Head of Retail & Mall Management, DC Mall under Guocoland Malaysia to Kalidass, the beneficiary leading the cloud kitchen initiative at Damansara City Mall.  

Apart from that, 15 individuals received their Certificate of Appointment from Datuk Seri M. Saravanan to commence the operations of their cloud kitchens with a minimum commitment of RM 1,400 as fixed monthly revenue. This would be made possible through Masala Wheels’ business mentoring and growth hacking. The cloud kitchen initiative, one of the first social models in Malaysia, will be empowering 15 individuals from the B40 community while committing to 20,000 meals as a seed fund for the entrepreneurs. The meals would be distributed to validated beneficiaries from 180 households impacting 900 individuals with RM 160,000 cost savings for these households.  

Pn. Masri Harun (38) from PPR Kerinchi also said, she and her husband were handling a food stall prior to MCO and their stall had to be evacuated to give way for road construction works. Since MCO they have no income, her husband’s vision has become blurry and his health has become worse due to diabetes and also hypertension. She has 4 kids and 3 among them are school-going children. Pn. Masri thanked Masala Wheels Cloud Kitchen initiative because it not only gives her an opportunity to take care of her 3-year-old kid and husband but helps her with monthly commitments.  

Masala Wheels holds Social Enterprise Accreditation (SE.A) Plus status from the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperation’s national certification programme that recognises legitimate social enterprises. The certification reflects its social impact, just through the allocation of resources and operational and financial sustainability, besides permitting tax exemptions for donations. Recently, Masala Wheels won the ASEAN Business Awards 2021 announced in Brunei Darussalam, making Malaysia proud with its Inclusive Business approach. 

This content is provided by Pepper Labs Sdn Bhd

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