PETALING JAYA: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will receive a 50% tax deduction to have training under artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity under the Budget 2026, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“This initiative is recognised by the MyMahir National AI Council for Industry (NAICI), which is jointly led by Talentcorp and MyDigital.
“Besides that,1,000 potential micro-entrepreneurs are eligible for the grants up to RM10,000 given by BSN with a total budget of RM50mil given by the government,” he said today uring the tabling of Budget 2026.
The budget also includes RM50bil of government loan and guarantee facilities available for local entrepreneurs.
He added that from there, over RM2.5bil in microloans will also be given through Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) and Tekun Nasional.
Anwar also said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) provides RM350mil to the National Information Dissemination Centre (Nadi), including guiding rural entrepreneurs to increase income through online businesses.
“The Bank Negara Fund will shift from mainly providing loans to offering guarantee-based support.
“This will be targeted to SMEs with limited access to financing and those involved in high-impact activities such as digitalisation, automation, innovation and the green transition,” he said.
Anwar said that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are encouraged to adapt to technology and digitalisation.
“There will be development financial institutions providing financing and grants of nearly RM1bil to support process automation and digitalisation of business operations,” he said.
