BAKE4ABILITY: EMPOWERING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH BAKERY AND PASTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEMP.935033Keywords:
Bakery And Pastry, Community Wellbeing, Digital Marketing, Disability Empowerment, Inclusive EntrepreneurshipAbstract
Inclusive entrepreneurship has become an important strategy for improving the livelihood, self-confidence and social participation of persons with disabilities. The Empowerment of Bakery and Pastry Project for Persons with Disabilities, known as PROKA, is a community empowerment initiative implemented by Majlis Pembangunan Masyarakat Kelantan, with support from Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (YAPEIM) and the Institute for Poverty Research and Management (InsPeK), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan. The project aims to empower persons with disabilities through bakery and pastry skills training, digital marketing, café management and a product vendor system. This study explores the effectiveness of PROKA in strengthening income generation, entrepreneurial skills, self-confidence and employment opportunities among participants through the KoZee Coffee & Pastry platform. A qualitative case study design was employed using semi-structured interviews, programme observation and document analysis. Participants consisted of persons with disabilities involved in the project, trainers, project facilitators and management representatives. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed five main themes: bakery and pastry training as a pathway to employability; confidence-building through real-world work exposure; KoZee Coffee & Pastry as an inclusive entrepreneurship platform; digital marketing and vendor systems as market access mechanisms; and sustainability challenges in disability-based entrepreneurship. The study found that PROKA provided meaningful skills training, employment opportunities, product marketing support and disability-friendly work exposure. Based on PROKA programme employment records, 10 of the 30 participants obtained permanent employment at KoZee Coffee & Pastry, while other participants generated income through the vendor system. Overall, PROKA has strong potential to serve as an inclusive, systematic and competitive social entrepreneurship model for empowering persons with disabilities in Kelantan.
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