Bernard (seated, second left) with other dignitaries and participants of the event in a photo-call.
KUCHING (Oct 21): SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp), an agency under the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development (Kuskop), has announced financial aid exclusively for Bumiputera micro-enterprises (MSMEs) in Sarawak and Sabah.
According to SME Corp, this is part of the Micro Enterprises Empowerment Programme (Mikro Madani), funnelled through Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme (BEEP) Plus Sabah and Sarawak, with an allocation of RM10 million.
“Access to sustainable financing remains a significant issue for MSMEs, particularly Bumiputera-owned businesses. Therefore, SME Corp has introduced the Mikro Madani programme, providing financial assistance to these micro-enterprises in the forms of grants, loans, and vouchers.
“This is done through five main initiatives: Business Micro Grants (GPM), Micro Business Financing (MBF), Micro Youth Business Grants @TUBE (Young Bumiputera Entrepreneurs), BEEP Plus Sabah and Sarawak, and MSME Status Vouchers,” said SME Corp chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Bernard Giluk Dompok at the Sabah state-level ‘Mikro Madani Exploration and Briefing Session’ at a hotel in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu yesterday.
“Through this programme, financial aid in the form of RM100 vouchers is also provided for MSME-status registration fees. This initiative aims to verify the MSME status to ensure that beneficiaries are indeed micro-enterprises,” he added.
Elaborating on the BEEP Plus Sabah and Sarawak initiative, he said it was specifically implemented to assist micro-enterprises, especially the original Bumiputera community, with grants matching up to 70 per cent of project costs, or a maximum of RM250,000, for capacity enhancement.
This, he added, would include the acquisition of machinery and equipment, product packaging improvements, ICT and e-commerce adoption, rental and business premises modifications, as well as promotional activities to boost sales and branding.
Meanwhile, SME Corp chief executive officer Rizal Nainy said applications for the Mikro Madani programme had been open since its launch on Sept 20.
Prior to Sabah, SME Corp had conducted several outreach sessions in the East Coast, Northern, and Southern regions of Peninsular Malaysia, as well as in Sarawak.
More information about Mikro Madani and online application facilities can be accessed via http://smecorp.gov.my/MIKROMADANI. -- The Borneo Post
