KUALA LUMPUR: The RM50mil (S$18 million) fund is not the only loan available to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), says Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.
"Many businesses assume that they can't get financial assistance from the Government.
"It's a perception caused by a lack of awareness among SMEs," he said.
As a solution, Dr Wee founded the Secretariat for the Advancement of Malaysian Entrepreneurs (SAME) last October.
SAME works closely with the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad (MIDF), SME Corp, the International Trade and Industry and the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry ministries in making funds more accessible to businesses.
"We have not been goyang kaki (sitting idle)," he said, adding that he had been engaging SME stakeholders to find out the industry's needs.
In just eight months, Wee said, the secretariat had helped 41 businesses to obtain loans of RM3.4mil from MIDF and 175 in getting grants amounting to RM1.34mil from SME Corp.
Some 72 SMEs, guided by SAME, also secured funding of RM64.38mil from various institutions.
Dr Wee called on SMEs to approach SAME for help.