KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — The government’s huge funding for the entrepreneurial community, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, will further accelerate the development of the country’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, in a statement today, said the ministry is ready to take on the significant responsibility of ensuring that the MSME sector continues to grow rapidly and contributes significantly to the country’s economic development.

"I greatly appreciate the strong support given by the Prime Minister, including providing funding and entrepreneurial training needed by the MSME community in the country.

"This includes assigning roles to agencies under my ministry, namely TEKUN Nasional, to become one of the leaders of the Bumiputera Micro Credit Financing Fund of RM1 billion, which focuses on women, youth and military veterans,” he said.

He was responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement during the closing ceremony of the Bumiputera Economic Congress 2024 in Putrajaya today, of an allocation of RM1 billion to create a new generation of Bumiputera entrepreneurs in high-growth sectors to be managed by Government-Linked Investment Companies.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, in his speech, also announced that the government would allocate up to RM1 billion for Bumiputera micro-credit financing through development financial institutions such as Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), Agrobank and TEKUN Nasional.

The fund aims to provide support to various segments of Bumiputera entrepreneurs, including women, youth, veterans, traders, gig workers and food truck operators.

Ewon hoped that this initiative would boost the participation of women, youth and military veterans in entrepreneurship.

"I always believe that the entrepreneurial and cooperative movements, as well as the education movement, can act as a bulwark against poverty, another issue highlighted by the Prime Minister during the congress,” he said.

Ewon also expressed his full support for the Prime Minister’s suggestion that all souvenirs given during the visits of foreign leaders to Malaysia be locally crafted, in turn supporting the local handicraft industry. — Bernama