KUANTAN, May 29 (Bernama) -- SME Corp Malaysia has, as of April this year, approved 40,000 applications in the form of grants and loans exceeding RM5 billion to Bumiputera entrepreneurs throughout the country.

Pahang Cooperatives, Entrepreneurs and Consumerism Committee Chairman Datuk Seri Shahiruddin Ab Moin said of this amount, two per cent or 732 approvals worth RM145 million was for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the state.

"The allocation includes assistance to Bumiputera SMEs under the Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme (BEEP).

"It covers 74 approvals worth RM5.5 million from 2011 to May 2016 and one of the companies in Kuantan to receive assistance in the form of a grant and loan was Zest Venture Sdn.Bhd.

"The company has succeeded in opening branches in four states and sixty per cent sales to Singapore.This episode shows that the support rendered to SMEs can enable them to venture further and post bigger success," he added.

Shahiruddin was speaking at the closing of the state level SME Carnival Week 2016 here today.

On the carnival this time, he said it had achieved its goal with matching sessions held between the SMEs and a number of hypermarkets with transactions worth RM2.6 million recorded.

"The hypermarkets in Pahang such as Giant, Mydin and Tunas Manja are seen as being increasingly confident with SME products and willing to sell them.

"Maybe after this, carnivals such as these will be held more frequently at various locations, including internationally, if we receive an additional allocation," he added.

-- BERNAMA