RM300mil channelled to aid Indian entrepreneurs

BUTTERWORTH: The economic empowerment of Indian entrepreneurs remains an ongoing commitment of the Federal Gov­ern­ment, with RM300mil alloca­ted for this year as of February, says Datuk Seri R. Ramanan.

The Deputy Entrepreneur Deve­­lopment and Cooperatives Min­is­ter said the amount comprised RM100mil for the Malay­sian ­Ind­ian Transformation Unit (Mitra), RM100mil for the Indian Commu­nity Entrepreneur Deve­lop­ment Scheme (Spumi) under Tekun Nasional and RM100mil for the Bank Rakyat Indian Entre­preneur Financing-i (BRIEF-i).

“In just two months, we have channelled RM300mil, and the government is working on ­seve­ral new initiatives to further imp­rove the socio-economic status of the Indian community.

“I have also held discussions with several agencies under the ministry for this purpose,” he said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.

The statement was issued following the Vanakam Madani en­ga­­­ge­ment session with Penang’s Indian entrepreneurial community, organised by Tekun Nasional on Friday.

Ramanan added that this initiative reflects the concern and determination of the Madani government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in strengthening the eco­nomy of entrepreneurs, who have long contributed significantly to the country’s development.

“I hope the participants attending the Spumi and Spumi Goes Big briefing session will seize this opportunity to participate in the programme to further strengthen their businesses.

“At the same time, I also urge them to become ambassadors in spreading this information to fellow entrepreneurs so that more people can benefit from this valuable opportunity,” he said, emphasising that the ministry remains focused on economic empowerment initiatives, particularly for the Indian community. - Star