Gov’t to sponsor more online business courses

Ahmad Maslan says Malaysians should emulate developed countries and pursue entrepreneurship, grants, and extra job opportunities.

SUBANG: Malaysians must not be afraid to become entrepreneurs and apply for grants provided by the government via SME Bank.

Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Ahmad Maslan said that according to a study on developed countries, it was found that most of their citizens were entrepreneurs.

“Starting next year, MITI will sponsor more courses on online businesses.

“For those holding permanent jobs but are still keen to participate in the courses, it’s not a problem: the courses are held at night or on weekends, thus not affecting their jobs,” he told a media briefing during his site visit of Systematic Aviation Services Sdn Bhd’s (SAS’s) base today.

He said that apart from holding down a full-time job, Malaysians could consider doing an online business given its huge potential. For instance, they could sell an increasing range of goods and services such as clothes and shoes, or even tap into the food delivery market.

Ahmad said that in developed countries, it was not unusual for a person to have more than one job.

He said SAS Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ismail Asha’ari was a successful entrepreneur and should be commended for his persistence in business.

“SAS’ first office was initially renovated from a toilet at the office of the Department of Civil Aviation in the early 90’s. Now they have three hangars and almost 100 workers,” he said.

SAS is one of the many companies featured in SME Bank’s “Your Success, Our Story” campaign. SAS first approached SME Bank in 2007; to date, its loan from the bank amounts to RM30 million.

The SME Bank funds include the Young Entrepreneur Fund with an approval value of RM38.9 million as of October 2015, as well as the Tabung Usahawan Siswazah (RM214.4 million) and SME-Go (RM21 million) funds.

– BERNAMA