Sarawak youths stand to benefit from many entrepreneurship programmes — Naroden

YOUTHS have numerous types of entrepreneurship assistance coming their way from various agencies – all meant to encourage them to set up their own business.

The assistance includes ‘ Graduates- to- Entrepreneurs Programme’ (Gerak) under the Ministry of Industrial and Entrepreneurship Development ( MIED); ‘ Bumiputera Entrepreneurial Start-Up Scheme’ ( Superb) under the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit ( Teraju); ‘Bumiputera Youth Entrepreneurs Programme’ ( Tube) under SME Corp; and ‘Rural Business Challenge’ ( RBC) programme under the federal Rural and Regional Development Ministry.

“The assistance covers capacity development, funds and equipment, business premises, as well as marketing and product development encompassing research, innovation and creativity,” said Assistant Minister of Entrepreneur and Small, Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais yesterday, in his response to Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman’s question on entrepreneur assistance offered to youths in Sarawak.

Naroden added that last year, Gerak signed up 92 – or 15 per cent – out of 600 participants from its psychometric assessment and bootcamp programmes.

“Under Teraju’s Superb programme, one Sarawakian participant won a starting grant of RM500,000. Since the establishment of this programme in 2014, a total of four Sarawakian entrepreneurs have benefited from this grant,” he said.

It is learnt that out of 294 Teraju applicants, 46 – or 16 per cent – have successfully set up their own business.

Meanwhile, the RBC has gathered five Sarawakian winners of the challenge so far this year.