Entrepreneur Fund helped 40 Bumis, says Musa
Published on: Wednesday, March 08, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: 40 Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the State have benefited from the Sabah Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development Fund worth RM3.56 million, as the Government continues efforts in trying to create business champions among them.Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said Tuesday that the fund was established in 2015 by the Federal Government in collaboration with the State Government through Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia) to empower the participation of Bumiputera in business.He said the establishment of the fund was among efforts taken by the Government to boost entrepreneurship in the country and is also concerned about the performance of micro entrepreneurs.
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"I hope through this collaboration, Bumiputera entrepreneurs will continue to successful and competitive. This strategic collaboration will surely boost Bumiputera entrepreneurs in contributing to the national economy," he said after chairing this year's first Bumiputera Economic Council meeting.The monthly meeting serves as a forum to discuss in detail on matters concerning Bumiputera entrepreneurship development at State level with Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju) that acts as the committee secretariat.He disclosed that the meeting discussed achievements of Teraju's various initiatives implemented with the State Government, as well as affirmative plans of action to continue empower Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Sabah.
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Since the formation of the council in 2014, the Chief Minister said various initiatives under the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda and Teraju programmes have been implemented in the State.He said among them is the Facilitation Fund which is implemented by Teraju in collaboration with SEDIA that functions as a project tipping point and also acts as a catalyst for Bumiputera companies' strategic investments.
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In Sabah he said 55 projects from different sectors have been awarded with the fund totaling RM138.18 million."These projects have contributed to the creation of RM1.17 value of investments and 3,500 job opportunities," he said.14 new companies received an offer letter for the fund from Musa during the event which would bring to a total of 52 to carry out the 55 projects.He also said that to date 45 Bumiputera companies have been identified as TERAS companies in Sabah out of 1,014 nationwide.Ten out of the 45 companies he said have been approved to receive the TERAS Fund totaling RM9.91 million, and among the beneficiaries are those involved in oil and gas, wholesale and retail and agriculture.In addition to these, Musa said Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Sabah have also benefited from the Bumiputera Entrepreneur Start-Up Scheme (Superb) that was established to assist start-up companies and young Bumiputera entrepreneurs to bring their creative and innovative business ideas to a higher level.He said so far 125 young entrepreneurs have won the SUPERB scheme grants nationwide amounting RM62.5 million, out of which seven have been from Sabah. This time around, two Bumiputera entrepreneurs, Mary Jim and Rashid Thomas who are involved in craft business and seaweed salt production respectively, were selected as scheme recipients, each receiving up to RM500,000.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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