PAPAR, April 30 — Since the car rental business he started in 2014 began to falter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, young entrepreneur Mohamad Ali Reza Saindil, 38, made a bold move to switch to selling organic chicken on a small scale.
It was a big blow for Reza who saw his car business in the past seven years dried up during the Movement Control Order (MCO) but he stayed unfazed by the challenging time.
When one door closes, another opens thus Reza, as he is affectionately known started a new business selling his own brand of organic chicken, Darisa, in Jalan Kampung Laut, Kampung Benoni, near here, with a startup capital of RM7,000 in February.
“The car rental business suffered following the MCO so much so he had to sell some of the cars. The proceeds from the sale were used to start this organic chicken business. I also took a basic poultry breeding course in Putatan in October last year.
“I am thankful because after two months in business, the response from customers has been encouraging and I can generate income from the sale of organic chicken up to RM300 a day. Thank God, we have been able to recover our capital,” he said when met by Bernama at his shop, recently.
Reza, who is the father of two children aged four years and seven months, said the idea of venturing into the organic chicken business arose because his second child has a chicken allergy and was advised to take organic chicken.
Reza also wants to grab the opportunity as the organic chicken business has great potential to be developed in the Sabah market as it is a relatively unexplored business.
“The demand for organic chicken is very encouraging and during the month of Ramadan there were repeat orders. Apart from that, many have also made early orders for the Hari Raya celebration,” he said.
Reza obtained supplies from an organic chicken farm run by Muslim Bumiputeras in Keningau, for about 200 chickens a month to meet customer demand around Papar.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Reza advised his customers to make booking which is open three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday or Sunday online because delivery service is provided without charge.
“I intend to open my own organic poultry farm and want the Darisa brand to be expanded to the whole of Sabah. It may not be easy, but I will continue to strive to achieve this dream,” he said, urging more youths to look for different options in order to succeed.
Darisa organic chicken is sold at RM18 per kg and folks especially around Papar who are interested can make reservations via Whatsapp at 012-869 6967 or go to Darisa Ayam Organik Facebook site.
