Ministry aims to create 50,000 B40, M40 entrepreneurs a year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development ( MED) targets to create 50,000 entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs annually from the B40 and M40 income groups over a five-year period.

Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said the ministry is committed to helping create one million jobs from the 250,000 entrepreneurs to be produced.

“MED will ensure entrepreneurship programmes give a great impact on the nation’s economy through the creation of more local entrepreneurs, enhancing product and service quality, and venturing into export markets,” he said at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

He was replying to Datuk Ahmad Nazlan Idris ( BN- Jerantut) who wanted to know the programmes to be implemented by the ministry and its strategy to encourage the young generation to grab the opportunities available.

He said under the Small an Medium Industry ( SME) Masterplan, SMEs are to projected to contribute 41 per cent to gross domestic product and 23 per cent to exports, as well as raise labour force participation rate to 65 per cent by 2020.

He said the ministry is also collaborating with the Youth and Sports Ministry to set up a Young Entrepreneurs’ Empowerment Fund as promised in the Pakatan Harapan election manifesto, covering 67 programmes and initiatives at a cost of RM1 billion for the year 2019.

“This proposal is one of the findings of the technical working group on empowering and cultivation of young entrepreneurs on Sept 25, 2018,” he said.

Mohd Redzuan said the proposal will be tabled at a Cabinet meeting for approval soon.

The fund will cover training and human capital development, financing, market access, and innovation and infrastructure, he said.

“MED is confident the programmes and activities can be monitored and coordinated in a more holistic and comprehensive manner,” he said, adding this initiative could reduce overlapping functions and programmes at the ministry and its agencies. — Bernama