He said out of 100 companies registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia in the last five years, only 18 had succeeded.

“We are not satisfied with this situation, as only 18 companies had succeeded and were able to sustain. Some of them (entrepreneurs) are still struggling while some others had to fold up,” the former chief minister of Malacca said.

Among the factors for the failure were the entrepreneurs’ frivolity in business, lack of knowledge, guidance and networking, as well as failure to undertake market research prior to starting their business.

He told reporters this after officiating the Bumiputera Economic Patriotism Consolidation programme at University Kuala Lumpur Malaysia-France Institute (UniKLMFI) here yesterday.

Also present was UniKLFMI pro-chancellor Adham Baba.

Rahim said as part of its effort to counter the high rate of failure among Bumiputera entrepreneurs, Gabem aimed to create more entrepreneurs among graduates.

“If we can create more entrepreneurs among graduates, it would be easier for them to succeed as they are more knowledgeable.

“This would be in line with the National Transformation 2050 (TN50), which is the nation’s aspiration to see the younger generation play their role in ensuring that the success which has been achieved thus far will continue in the future,” he said.

He added that Gabem would be conducting the Bumiputera Economic Patriotism Consolidation programme at 25 higher education institutions nationwide.

“The programme encourages graduates to enter the business field and to expand the current economic and business opportunities,” Rahim said.

Meanwhile, Adham said the programme was in line with the university’s aspiration to create more successful entrepreneurs in the technical field.

“Out of 6,000 graduates, 1,000 had became entrepreneurs while they were still studying and we have been training our students to become entrepreneurs since their first year,” he said.