According to Bank Simpanan Nasional’s (BSN) Chief Business Officer Mujibburrahman Abd Rashid, 85,000 micro-entrepreneurs will be assisted this year to restore business capacity affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and recent floods.
According to the estimate, 25,000 entrepreneurs will benefit from the Semarak Niaga Keluarga Malaysia Scheme (SemarakNiaga), while another 60,000 will benefit from digital matching grants.
“We have seen micro-enterprises as one of the earliest sectors to recover after all economic sectors were reopened and interstate travel restrictions were lifted.
BSN assisted 88,000 micro-entrepreneurs last year through a mixture of previous financing schemes, such as Prihatin, Penjana, and Pemerkasa, as well as digital matching grants.
Mujibburrahman stated that applications for SemarakNiaga could be made starting this month, with the eligibility criteria being that the applicant is a micro-entrepreneur, whether sole proprietorship, partnership, or Sdn Bhd owned by a Malaysian citizen.
The company must also be registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia as well as local authorities, and it must have been in operation for at least six months.
The SemarakNiaga programme, which includes a financing package worth RM40 billion, was announced by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz on October 29, 2021, when presenting Budget 2022 in Parliament.
Various agencies such as BSN, Tekun, Agrobank, Bank Rakyat, and Bank Negara Malaysia will provide micro-credit financing valued almost RM1.8 billion through SemarakNiaga.
