KUALA LUMPUR: The Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry has introduced a new initiative called Empowering Indian Entrepreneurs (EIP), aimed at helping Indian entrepreneurs enhance their business management skills.
Deputy Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan said the programme, launched for the first time, offers free business management training in collaboration with Tekun Nasional.
"This is part of the Madani government’s commitment to support the Indian community by ensuring their businesses are managed effectively and sustainably,” he said in a statement on Saturday (April 5).
The training will be conducted in stages across the country, targeting Indian entrepreneurs who have received Tekun financing. The first session involving participants from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur is expected to be held soon.
"Among the topics covered are business and audit management, social media strategies and effective financial management. We want every loan to be used wisely so that more Indian entrepreneurs can benefit from these programmes in the long run,” he said.
Ramanan, who is also Sungai Buloh MP, said Tekun Nasional has so far channelled RM8.22mil to over 355 Indian entrepreneurs through the Indian Community Entrepreneur Financing Scheme (Spumi) and SPUMI Goes Big as of the end of March.
He added that RM100mil has been allocated this year under SPUMI - the highest amount since the scheme was introduced in 2007.
Ramanan earlier announced the Vanigham Financing Scheme (VFS), a RM50mil initiative through SME Bank, which is expected to benefit over 250 Indian entrepreneurs.
Other initiatives include the Bank Rakyat Indian Entrepreneur Financing-i (BRIEF-i), and the Indian Business Accelerator Programme (I-BAP), which focuses on strengthening small Indian-owned businesses.
"In just three months, we’ve rolled out five initiatives worth RM235mil. This reflects the Madani government’s firm commitment under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to uplift the socio-economic standing of the Indian community in an inclusive and meaningful way,” he said. - Bernama
