KUCHING, Nov 1: A total of 85 micro entrepreneurs in Lawas has benefited from the Sarawak Micro Credit Scheme (SMCS) offered by Agrobank with a total financing amount of RM2.02 million as of Sept 30, 2021.
Agrobank in a statement today said the announcement was made during the handing over ceremony of the SMCS fund replica cheque to all recipients in conjunction with the official visit of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg, to Lawas on Sunday.
He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who is also Minister for International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development.
During the event, Chief Minister also witnessed the handing over of the replica cheque of SMCS fund amounting RM45 million from Acting Permanent Secretary of Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal & Entrepreneur Development Sarawak (MINTRED) Dzulkornain Masron, to Covering President/Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank, Khadijah Iskandar, as a symbolic gesture of strategic collaboration between the Sarawak State Government and Agrobank.
Commenting about the collaboration, Khadijah said since the inception of Agrobank, Sarawak has always been one of their key business focus and Agrobank is committed to empowering the B40 group and the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sarawak through various structured micro-financing programmes.
“The significant number of customers we served in Sarawak have demonstrated that the economic activities in Sarawak are vibrant, and this programme provides abundance of opportunities for SME entrepreneurs and its ecosystem to grow their businesses during this challenging time.
“The initiatives taken by Sarawak is timely to support small and significant businesses in the State, particularly for those affected by Covid-19,” she said.
The SMCS is an initiative of the Sarawak government to assist small and medium businesses among the B40 group with minimal documentation requirement. It is a scheme to provide financial assistance in a form of easy financing to the B40 group, micro and small business owners who have limited access to traditional capital resources, such as commercial banks and other financial institutions.
The scheme was launched in March 2020 and it is a joint collaboration between Agrobank and the Sarawak state government through the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Terminal Industry and Entrepreneur Development. The SMCS initiative is one of the seven packages under the Sarawakku Sayang Government Assistance (BKSS) package 1.0 to 7.0 that is still offered to those in need.
The Sarawak state government through BKSS had approved an allocation of RM50 million for the purpose of SMCS where Agrobank had been allocated with RM45 million, while SEDC received a fund allocation of RM5 million.
SMCS is divided into two schemes, which is SMCS 1 and SMCS 2. The SMCS 1, provides financing from RM1,000 to RM10,000 without interest, while the SMCS 2 provides financing from RM5,000 to RM50,000 with a profit rate of 4 per cent based on the reduced monthly balance. — DayakDaily.
