A boon for employees
Microfinancing efforts can reduce unemployment and boost job creation as a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services,.
Newday Pharmacy chief pharmacist Eileen Lau commented that the government’s microfinancing has helped the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by subsiding employers with financial aid for part of their employees’ salaries.
“This, in turn, has reduced the possibility of employee retrenchment during the downturn of the economy during this Covid-19 pan- demic,” she told The Borneo Post.
“On top of that, certain microfinancing packages encourage the employers to take in new employees by providing subsidies for the salaries of new workers.
“This is crucial as we slowly recover from the economic impact of the pandemic – by keeping unemployment rate among fresh graduates, retrenched employees, and even individuals above certain age group, as low as possible.”
Lau said businesses across all sectors were affected one way or another, with the tourism and event management industries taking the hardest hit from the pandemic since traveling and event organising have been limited or restricted for a prolonged period of time.
“These microfinancing packages and measures from the government are definitely of great help to all industries during these trying times,” she added.
“For any SMEs, financial aid will almost, all the time, be the backbone of the business operation. The financial aid from the government is surely a measure worthy to be praised.”