KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 ― Participants of the People’s Income Initiative (IPR) under the Food Entrepreneur Initiative (Insan) and Agro Entrepreneur Initiative (Intan) categories are expected to get out of poverty in two years, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Insan participants can find other business models such as opening a stall after generating an income of at least RM2,000 per month, he added.

"After they are successful and move on to other business models such as having their own stalls, the opportunity will be open to other participants.

"If this is done nationwide, we would have created a mechanism to help the hardcore poor and the B40 income group on a more sustainable basis,” he said after launching a self-service machine at the Sentral Station IPR.

Rafizi said the current programme is different from previous programmes as the assets involved belong to the government, which enables the government to ensure that participants qualify for the initiative and show interest in enhancing their income.

For example, participants only need to provide capital for food costs and will not be charged for the rental of machines and electricity.

"The entrepreneur only to needs to come up with the working capital,” he added. "This will help to ensure that the goods are sold cheap, that is between RM1 and RM5.”

The minister said the government is targeting 100 self-service IPR machines in high visitor traffic locations such as LRT stations in the Klang Valley and universities nationwide.

His ministry is also targeting that the machines can be extended to five thousand recipients under the Insan programme.

At present, 1,100 strategic partners have expressed interest in providing the IPR machines.

The IPR, encompassing the Insan, Intan and Ikhsan initiatives, was launched on February 26, 2023 in an effort to raise the people’s income due to the rising cost of living.

The government is targeting 100,000 participants from the hardcore poor and the B40 income group to join the initiative so that they can earn an income of at least RM2,000 to get out of the poverty level. ― Bernama