Agency to explore devt of business spaces in Sabah
The National Institute of Entrepreneurship (INSKEN) will open a service office in Sabah this year and will organize social entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurship guidance in the state.
Datuk Ewon Benedick
KOTA KINABALU: Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick welcomed UDA Holdings, one of the agencies under the ministry to explore the potential development of business spaces in Sabah.
He said the effort will enable more small and medium entrepreneurs in Sabah to get sufficient business space facilities.
“I am aware that under the Ministry of Industrial Development there is an agency that provides business space facilities but the allocation is limited and business space facilities are also limited for entrepreneurs.
“Therefore I invite UDA Holdings to explore the potential development of commercial space in Sabah so that more small and medium entrepreneurs can get the facility,” he said.
Ewon said this when delivering the closing speech after the presentation of seven cluster representatives at an engagement session with associations and cooperatives, at the Sabah International Convention Center (SICC), here yesterday.
The clusters are Financing; Franchise/Halal & Certification/ Product Development; Digital Economy/Social Entrepreneurship; Training/ Capacity Development; Market Access; Business Facilitation for Hawkers/Small Traders and Cooperative Development.
Regarding the proposal to increase entrepreneurship promotion activities at the grassroots level, especially at rural areas, Ewon said the establishment of the Council for the Development of Entrepreneurs, Cooperatives, Hawkers and Small Traders at the district level is one of the efforts towards realising the proposal.
“I have held a meeting with all district officers and assistant district officers throughout Sabah recently and I also agree that district officers in Sabah will be given a special briefing on our ministry’s entrepreneurship programmes so that they can become a one-stop center related to the ministry’s entrepreneurship schemes or programmes.
“For information, there are 66 agencies across the country that implement entrepreneur development programmes under the federal and state ministries.
“The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development (KUSKOP) only has 10 agencies, there are still more than 50 agencies in other ministries.
“This is a big challenge but at the Sabah level, the district officers themselves should be a one-stop centre and I agree that entrepreneurship promotion tours need to be increased in Sabah,” he said.
He added that he will take further action to ensure that entrepreneurship promotion activities at rural areas can be carried out.
Ewon also said that financing is still an issue in Sabah.
However, he said Sabah was still one of the first to receive funding, for example from Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), one of the agencies under KUSKOP.
“The majority of AIM borrowers are from Sabah. Congratulations to AIM for ensuring that Sabah gets this benefit. We have also increased the limit of special Contract-i financing for bumiputera entrepreneurs from RM100,000 to RM200,000 from January this year.
“Things related to other financing, I am aware of, especially the proposal to create a financing quota for Sabah and Sarawak entrepreneurs. This is a good proposal and I hope it will be taken seriously by the leadership of the federal government, especially our ministry,” he said.
Regarding the proposal from the Franchise, Halal and Certification Cluster, Product Development, Ewon said that a workshop will be held involving the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (JAKIM), the Islamic Religious Council of Sabah (MUIS), the Department of Industrial Development and Research (DIDR), relevant ministries and agencies on halal certification.
“We don’t know in the
Peninsula, whether the same problem occurs or not, but if the problem is serious in Sabah, then the workshop should focus on solving the problems of entrepreneurs involving halal certification in Sabah,” he said.
Regarding the Digital economy and Social Entrepreneurship (SE) cluster, Ewon said he appreciated the suggestions of the participants.
“The National Institute of Entrepreneurship (INSKEN) will open a service office in Sabah this year and will organize social entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurship guidance in the state.
“KUSKOP for the first time this year has submitted to the Ministry of Finance for a number of allocations that are needed to develop Social Entrepreneurship and I hope it can be enjoyed by the Social Entrepreneurship community in Sabah,” he said.
He said that the presentation results from this engagement session were very valuable for the ministry and hoped that it would create close cooperation between KUSKOP and State-level ministries.
Among the issues and challenges submitted by the participants of Digital Economy and Social Entrepreneurship cluster is awareness on the social entrepreneur model, limited reach of the programme, lack of assistance/facility specially for Social Entrepreneurship (SE) and involvement/access to product/ service market.
Among their proposals are to increase awareness programmes at all levels of the community, to create and empower SE communities among them at localities and communities to be allocated budgets to implement activities.
Aside from that, participants also proposed that an SE ambassador be appointed to encourage the interest of youth to venture into social entrepreneurship.