85 Micro Entrepreneurs In Lawas Benefit From The Sarawak Micro Credit Scheme Totaling RM2.02 Million

LAWAS – A total of 85 micro-entrepreneurs in Lawas, Sarawak has benefited from the Sarawak Micro Credit Scheme (SMCS) offered by Agrobank with a total financing amount of RM2.02 million as of 30 September 2021.

This announcement was made at the handing ceremony of the SMSC fund replica cheque to all recipients in conjunction with the official visit of YAB Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg, Chief Minister of Sarawak to Lawas on Sunday. He was accompanied by YAB Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah bin Ali Hasan, Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak cum International Trade & Industry, Industrial Terminal & Entrepreneur Development Minister.

At the same event, YAB Chief Minister of Sarawak also witnessed the handing over of the replica cheque of SMCS fund amounting RM45 million from Dzulkornain bin Masron, Acting Permanent Secretary of Ministry of International Trade & Industry, Industrial Terminal & Entrepreneur Development Sarawak (MINTRED), to Covering President/Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank, Khadijah Iskandar, as a symbolic of strategic collaboration between the Sarawak State Government and Agrobank.

Speaking about the alliance, Khadijah said, “Since the inception of Agrobank, Sarawak has always been one of our key business focus and Agrobank is committed to empowering the B40 group and the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sarawak through our various structured micro-financing programmes.”

“The significant numbers of customers we served in Sarawak has demonstrated that 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 by the state of Sarawak is timely to support small and significant businesses in Sarawak particularly those affected by COVID-19,” she added.

The SMCS is an initiative of the Sarawak state 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 has approved an allocation of RM50 million for the purpose of SMCS where Agrobank has been allocated 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% based on the reduced monthly balance.