Major Boost for Social Enterprise: Budget 2025 Strengthens Social Procurement and Economic Empowerment Initiatives

Pepper Labs is extremely grateful and honoured to receive an RM5 million funding to be allocated for the expansion of the Dapur Digital programme.  This is a big win for social enterprises and a needed impetus to expand initiatives in closing the gap on poverty nationwide.

This is the first time a social enterprise has been identified as a key ally to the government in the annual National Budget - a vote of confidence as a trusted operator to expand an economic empowerment programme, which has delivered strong results through its pilot programme. 

Dapur Digital is Malaysia’s first public-private-philanthropy programme in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Jabatan Wilayah Persekutuan, DBKL and Yayasan Hasanah. 

Dapur Digital: Cloud Kitchen Programme Ready To Scale 

With the allocation under the National Budget 2025, we will be working with more partners to set up 20 Dapur Digital nationwide within the next few years to equip more participants from underserved communities across the country, uplifting them into a better economic bracket.

The five Dapur Digital pilot locations have to-date generated a cumulative revenue of over RM30,000. This uniquely designed programme involves refurbishing five PPR flats in Kuala Lumpur into cloud kitchens.  While the cloud kitchens were being set up, within six months, 50 individuals were also trained with a Micro-Credential programme on how to operate a cloud kitchen business. This approach involves a group effort by a community of participants who use a shared premise to prepare food which is promoted and delivered through three food delivery platforms.

Government initiatives over the past five years including programmes such as the Social Enterprise Action Framework 2030, Social Enterprise Accreditation certification and the zero-interest loans from the Hasanah Social Enterprise Fund (HSEF) and social procurement initiatives - are among the key instruments that have enabled social enterprises to grow and strengthen their offerings to serve the needy. This, among others, has helped the country address absolute poverty, with rates dropping from 8.2% in 2021 to 6.2% in 2022. 

PepperLabs was also a delivery partner with Khazanah Nasional for the K-Youth programme which the Prime Minister has also identified in the Budget with an allocation of RM200 million in 2025. 

We believe the National Budget 2025 can turn the MADANI aspirations and RMK-12 goals into reality for the rakyat. As Malaysia takes on the ASEAN Presidency in 2025 with a theme of inclusiveness, we believe social enterprises can accelerate the equipping and enablement of underserved communities - particularly in commercial, tourism and social activities.

Pepper Labs has secured one of the largest social procurement contracts from the Government, as unveiled in Budget 2025. This marks a significant milestone for the social enterprise, positioning it as a key player in driving impactful community-focused initiatives through public-private collaborations.

With this, we believe more Government Linked Companies or corporations can partner with social enterprises as means for them to track and report the impact of their social contributions - particularly with Scope 3 ESG reporting requirements already coming onstream with more focus on public-private-philanthropy partnerships. 

Dapur Digital: Cloud Kitchen - Working In Refurbished Spaces

We are also excited with the government’s plans to repurpose unused its buildings and spaces, for preschools, nurseries and training centres. In the case of the pilot initiative with Dapur Digital, the refurbishment of unused spaces including shoplots and public areas was completed on-budget and in a timely manner in all five locations. We have found this to be a highly viable means to not only lower the cost of government expenditure but also effective in benefiting more underserved communities. 

These cloud kitchen locations can be used in future as collection points for waste management projects and start-ups looking for addressable markets to pilot their programmes and run proof-of-concepts. Pepper Labs is a creative social innovator that’s open to partnering with tech providers to create impact in the communities it serves.

This content is provided by Pepper Labs Sdn Bhd.

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