Govt increases aid to Sabah entrepreneurs to RM100 million

PUNB more than doubles funding, with its chairman Mohd Ali Rustam saying it also aims to increase funding to women, to balance the current ratio which favours men.

PETALING JAYA: Entrepreneurs in Sabah stand to gain with the federal government more than doubling its financial assistance through the Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) from RM48 million to RM100 million next year.

This was revealed by PUNB chairman Mohd Ali Rustam at a state-level PUNB event in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, Borneo Post reported.

“RM48 million is a small amount from the total of RM2.7 billion allocated throughout the country.

“That said, we will raise the amount for Sabah next year,” he was quoted as saying.

Towards that objective, PUNB is set to open a new branch in Inanam next month and in Tawau next January, as well as adding more resources to support the expected demand as more entrepreneurs come forward to apply for funding.

According to Ali, who is former Melaka chief minister, PUNB currently provides financial aid to both large-scale and small-scale businesses, starting from RM50,000 to RM10 million.

“As of now, financial aid for women and men entrepreneurs stand at 40% and 60%, respectively.

“Starting next year, the allocation will be split 50-50 to meet the RM100 million target,” he was quoted as saying by the Sarawak-based daily.

Ali added that PUNB had suggested to the state government to allocate a 10-acre plot of land for an entrepreneur market business concept, similar to a successful programme in Miri, Sarawak which involves 500 entrepreneurs.

“All kinds of businesses took part from selling furniture to electronic items and even produce.

“We suggest the state government set up the location and PUNB will prepare the facilities for the market,” he was quoted as saying by Borneo Post, adding that the location should be within 5-10km from the city centre. -FMT