PUTRAJAYA: A total of RM15.11bil has been allocated to implement 270 entrepreneurship programmes this year, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).
Ahmad Zahid said the allocation would benefit 479,350 recipients under the SME Integrated Plan of Action (SMEIPA) 2023/2024 involving programmes planned by various ministries, agencies and state governments.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the existing SMEIPA reporting needs to be strengthened so that it could be used as the main reference by stakeholders, especially ministries and agencies in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“This will ensure no more overlap in the implementation of programmes for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME),” he said after chairing a meeting of the National Entrepreneur and SME Development Council yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid said based on the action plan’s report, an average of 191 entrepreneurship as well as MSME development programmes were implemented every year, with an annual commitment of RM9.6bil.
“In fact, last year alone, RM15.48bil was spent on 258 of such programmes,” Ahmad Zahid pointed out.
He said the council also agreed that the MSME status registration system should be integrated with other main systems such as Padu database, SSM database (Companies Commission of Malaysia) and GovTech Malaysia.
“This is to increase synergy between ministries and agencies and further improve the government’s delivery system, especially in entrepreneurship development,” he said, Bernama reported.
Ahmad Zahid said the meeting also confirmed new members into the council, adding that the addition was to strengthen the cooperation between ministries and stakeholders in empowering MSME development.
The new membership involved the secretaries-general of the Rural and Regional Development, Investment, Trade and Industry, Finance, Economy the Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development Ministries.
“I believe their involvement will allow for better coordination of entrepreneur development programmes and MSME, particularly in penetrating the global market and expand access to rural areas,” he said.
