PENAMPANG: The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (Kuskop) has allocated RM12 million for the Tunas Usahawan Belia Bumiputera (Tube) programme this year.
Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the allocation, channelled through its agency SME Corp Malaysia, aims to train 500 entrepreneurs nationwide, including 110 from Sabah.
“I believe entrepreneurship initiatives like this can help lift Sabah out of hardcore poverty, a concern frequently raised on various platforms.
“At the same time, I hope Sabah entrepreneurs will take advantage of services provided by other government agencies as well,” he told reporters after launching the Tube 11 programme at the International Technology and Commercial Centre here.
The entrepreneurship training programme starts in Sabah and will be rolled out to four other zones, namely, Northern, East Coast, Central and Southern, and Sarawak, beginning in May.
Ewon, who is also Penampang Member of Parliament, said the Tube programme provides a maximum business start-up grant of RM15,000 to participants who successfully complete the one-week training.
He added that the Tube 11 programme has been enhanced with a more dynamic training module that aligns with the latest developments in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, covering topics such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation and the adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.
Kuskop has also proposed that the programme continue under the 13th Malaysia Plan with further improvements to enhance its effectiveness and expand its reach to more Bumiputera youth nationwide.
Since its inception in 2014, Tube has trained 8,543 youths, created 15,872 job opportunities and recorded a cumulative sales value of RM194 million.
