KUALA LUMPUR – Educator Sujietra Jayaseelan was meant to set up a physical after-school coaching centre for children in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, but her plan was scuppered in March when Malaysia imposed a partial shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. After observing her own children study at home when schools were shut, she instead launched Green Patch Academy, an online centre offering academic and skills coaching for children.

“The online method had never crossed my mind before. I also offered a very low price bearing in mind the impact of the pandemic on people’s finances. It would have been so cheap if this was my initial idea,” she told The Straits Times.

Green Patch is just one of the nearly 280,000 new businesses registered in Malaysia between March and September, defying the pandemic gloom with fresh enterprises in sectors such as food and beverage, online retail and fitness.