MIRI: Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in Sarawak are urged to seize opportunities from the various developmental programmes and assistance that are being offered by the government through the ministries and relevant agencies.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dato Jacob Dungau Sagan said the various SME developmental programmes and assistance made available by the government are in line with its effort to transform the SME community to be innovative-led, productivity-driven and knowledge-based in order to achieve sustainable economic growth.
“To date, SME Corp Malaysia has approved grants amounting to RM19.1 million involving 644 applicants and loans valued at RM100.9 million to 141 SMEs.
“In addition, for micro financing, Tekun (Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga) has approved RM91.8 million benefitting 14,463 SMEs and AIM (Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia) has also approved RM470 million involving 31,616 SMEs,” he said.
He disclosed this in his address when officiating at the Jom Niaga Sarawak Chapter at Boulevard Commercial Centre here yesterday. Also present were chairman of SME Corp Malaysia Datuk Ir (Dr) Mohamed Al Amin Haji Abdul Majid, Sibuti MP Ahmad Lai Bujang, Miri mayor Lawrence Lai and Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau.
The Jom Niaga Sarawak Chapter, which started last Saturday, comprised entrepreneurial activities such as briefing sessions by government related agencies and a series of talks by local entrepreneurs covering various topics.
There were also pocket talks by the Association of Islamic Banking Institution Malaysia (AIBIM) on recently launched Syariah-compliant Commercialisation Innovation Fund (CIF) and Syariah-compliant SME Financing Scheme (SSFS) to provide awareness on the availability of the facilities provided by them.
The event is organised by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and its agency SME Corp Malaysia in collaboration with Entrepreneur Development Council (MPUB).
The carnival-like event is aimed at providing a platform to gather micro, small and medium enterprises to showcase and highlight their products as well as services in a warm and welcoming environment.
A total of 120 booths were set up at the venue by SMEs from various industries, financial institutions as well as government-related agencies.
The venue also acts as a
one-stop centre where entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs can make enquiries and seek advise on how to start and enhance their business.
Meanwhile, the event also witnessed the presentation of cheques and approvals for financial facilities under SME Corp Malaysia, Tekun and SME Bank to 17 recipients by Jacob.