SME
Bank targets 700 more young entrepreneurs, plans to finish giving out RM50mil
govt fund by Sept
JOHOR
BARU: SME Bank Bhd hopes to finish disbursing the RM50mil allocation from the
Government for the Young Entrepreneur Fund (YEF) by September to 700 recipients
nationwide.
Vice-president
and head of priority banking Abd Karim Ahmad said it had received 42
applications for the scheme as of to date and would disburse RM5mil to them.
He said that by April, the bank targeted to receive
another 100 applications for the YEF and it would disburse RM15mil to the young
entrepreneurs.
“We are hoping that the Government will allocate more
budget for the YEF under Budget 2014,'' Abd Karim told StarBiz at the final leg
of the SME Bank entrepreneur funding scheme roadshow.
Similar event was held in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching,
Miri, Kota Kinabalu and Kota Baru, focusing on the YEF and the SME Development
Scheme (SDS) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and young entrepreneurs.
The YEF
is specially tailored for young entrepreneurs aged between 18 years and 30
years who plan to start or already run a business.
Each
eligible applicant will receive up to RM100,000 as a start-up capital or
working expenditure and has seven years to service the loan.
“We hope young enterprising people who want to start
businesses to fully utilise the financial assistance given by the Government to
them,'' said Abd Karim.
He said
the main objective of the scheme was to assist young entrepreneurs who were not
qualified to borrow money from commercial banks or other Government-related
funding schemes.
Separately,
SME Bank would open two new branches this year in Johor one each in Batu Pahat
and Pasir Gudang in May and June respectively.
This will bring the number of its branches in the state
to three.
South Johor SME Association chairman Teh Kee Sin said
with the YEF and SDS schemes, there were no reasons for young entrepreneurs and
SMEs to get loans from unlicensed money lenders.
“There
are many Government-initiated schemes to assist our SMEs and they should take
advantage of the schemes for their own benefits,'' he said.
Teh, who is also SMI Association of Malaysia national
president, said the Government was now becoming more pro-active, adding that
unlike before, it was now less hassle for SMEs to get loans.
He said
the YEF scheme would also open doors of opportunities for young graduates to
start business.
“My advice to first timers (young entrepreneurs) who
have succeeded in getting the loan to honour the contract and pay your
installments on time,'' said Teh.
He said they should be a responsible borrower as their
act of not paying the loans on time or not servicing the loans at all was
tantamount to denying other eligible applicants from getting the financial
assistance.
Teh
said young entrepreneurs and SMEs must have the mission and vision of making
profits when venturing into businesses and able to expand over time.
“If you think you cannot do it, then don't do it, as
doing business is challenging and not as easy as one might think but the reward
is good,'' he said.
Source: The Star
Date: 11 March 2013
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