KUCHING: The federal Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac) has called on micro businesses to reach out to its agency Tekun Nasional for hassle-free financing assistance.
Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he was concerned about reports that many entrepreneurs were turning to loan sharks instead of going to the designated government agencies.
“For those who need to borrow money for business purposes, please come and see us and not the Ah Longs. Our interest rates are so much lower and we have your best interest at heart.
“Our financing programmes also aim to give entrepreneurs whose businesses are badly affected by the pandemic a second chance. We want to see them succeed,” he said on Wednesday (July 21).
Wan Junaidi added that the ministry’s other supporting agencies such as the National Entrepreneurship Institute (Insken) could help to upskill them to cope with today’s challenging business environment.
He highlighted that last December, Tekun introduced a special financing scheme for informal business operators called Skim Pembiayaan Informal (SPIN).
A total of RM50 mil was allocated under this scheme, which will benefit 10,000 informal businesses all over the country, as well as offering RM1,000 to RM5,000 loans with up to three years repayment period.
As of 16 July, Tekun has disbursed RM19.47mil worth of loans under SPIN to 3,309 informal business operators nationwide.
Selangor currently tops the list with a total loan value of RM3.15 mil (390 recipients) followed by Sarawak at RM3.04 mil (589) and Terengganu at RM2.54 mil (469).
“These loans are still available and hope more informal businesses will come to Tekun and apply for this financing facility to help them in this trying time.
“Please contact Tekun to enquire about this financing facility.”
Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi, who is also Santubong MP, presented RM333,000 worth of loans under Tekun to 10 Sarawakiian entrepreneurs.
He also presented a RM112,000 contribution from Bank Rakyat and RM50,000 from the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (SKM) to representatives of Surau Sepakat Jaya in his constituency, to be used for the food basket programme as well as next year’s Qurban programme.
