GEORGE TOWN: A total of RM4bil under the government’s RM15bil “PowerUp 10K” financing target for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector has been disbursed as of April this year, says Steven Sim.
The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister said the financing had benefited more than 150,000 companies and business entrepreneurs nationwide.
"One of our key performance indicators (KPIs) this year is to channel RM15bil from the ministry into the MSMEs sector.
"As of the end of April, we have successfully disbursed about RM4bil, benefiting over 150,000 Malaysian companies and entrepreneurs,” he told reporters after officiating the Jualan Madani Koperasi and Karnival Keluarga programme at Persiaran Karpal Singh here on Sunday (May 24).
Sim said the ministry would soon launch a portal to allow the public to monitor the progress of the RM15bil target, including updates on the amount disbursed and the agencies involved.
“We will update the portal so people know how much of the RM15bil target has been released and which agencies have disbursed the funds,” he said.
He said the one-stop portal will also include access to information related to financing, training and various government support programmes.
He said agencies under the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry, including Tekun Nasional, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, SME Bank and Bank Rakyat, continued to play a key role in supporting PMKS operators and cooperatives.
Sim said the government was also taking a proactive approach by bringing the financing agencies directly to the people through programmes such as Jualan Madani Koperasi.
“We do not wait for customers to come to our offices. We go to the ground to meet entrepreneurs, small traders and MSME operators to provide assistance directly,” he said.
He added that the government was not only focused on providing financing, but also on capacity building and financial management support for small business operators.
Sim said the ministry had introduced measures such as moratoriums and loan restructuring assistance for borrowers affected by issues including cash flow problems, global supply disruptions and natural disasters.
He noted that non-performing loans (NPL) among borrowers had shown improvement over the past one to two years, with fewer cases of repayment defaults recorded.
He said about 80 types of daily necessities were offered at discounts of up to 20% during the Jualan Madani Koperasi programme, with prices further reduced to 30% during a “happy hour” promotion which was announced earlier during the programme.
Also present during the event were Sungai Pinang assemblyman and state welfare committee chairman Lim Siew Khim and Sungai Puyu assemblyman Phee Syn Tze.
