KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to gain various benefits from the Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) which was announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today.
During a special address to the nation, Muhyiddin said based on feedback given by the business sector, the government decided to help each business through several measures.
He said among the grievances aired by business operators were on the decline of demands by customers and their inability to fully utilise digital technology to generate online sales.
"To encourage micro-enterprises and SMEs to move to the digital or online services, the government, together with the private sector, will finance the venture through a matching grant of RM140 million.
"This allocation will be used for training sessions, vendor subsidies and sales assistance and it will be spearheaded by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) along with selected e-commerce platforms.
"The government, in collaboration with private companies, will be running a 'Shop Malaysia Online' campaign to encourage people to shop online, where promotional codes and various discount vouchers will be provided through the e-commerce platform," he said, adding that to start it off, the government would allocate RM70 million.
The prime minister said the government would also continue to award grants and loans to SMEs and mid-tier companies to enable more companies to subscribe to or use digitalisation services.
This, he said, would amount to RM70 million.
"Firstly, RM100 million of SME Digital Matching Grants will be provided in collaboration with telecommunication companies; secondly RM500 million under the SME Technology Transformation Fund will be provided as a simple loan; and third, RM100 million is allocated under the Smart Automation Grants, where each eligible company will receive a grant of up to RM1 million."
To assist the sustainability of SMEs involved in the targeted sector, Muhyiddin said the banking sector would offer an additional RM2 billion through the Penjana SME Financing Scheme.
The application process for this financing scheme will begin from mid-June 2020 with a limit of up to RM500,000 per SME.
For micro-enterprises, he said the government would establish Penjana Micro Funding in collaboration with Bank Simpanan Nasional and Tekun Nasional for the financing of RM400 million of which RM50 million would be dedicated to women entrepreneurs.
To strengthen Bumiputera involvement and to ensure sustainability in business and entrepreneurship, the prime minister said funding of RM200 million would be offered through the National Entrepreneur Corporation Berhad (PUNB).
"Also, RM300 million will be channelled to MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) where Bumiputera entrepreneurs and affected skills institutes can obtain funding for working capital.
"To assist SMEs' cash flow, beginning in July, SME Bank through the SME-GO Scheme will provide financing to 16,000 qualified G2 and G3 grades contractors who have received projects under Prihatin.
"For the convenience of the contractor, no collateral or deposit is required."