KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — The government will allocate RM50 million under the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund to encourage graduates to venture into entrepreneurship upon graduation.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the allocation is expected  to reduce unemployment rate among graduates.

The fund, to be managed by SME Bank, will provide soft loans up to RM500,000 at four per cent interest rate, he said.

The government also planned to establish the National Entrepreneur Development Office (NEDO), an entity to formulate the entrepreneur development plan.

He said an entrepreneur development plan will be formulated to provide a conducive ecosystem, which emphasises the generation of ideas, which can be commercialised, infrastructure for training and incubators, entrepreneurship modules, financing facilities as well as marketing.

NEDO will be established under the National Strategy Unit in the Finance Ministry which will plan and coordinate all activities related to entrepreneurship.

Najib, who is also the finance minister, said the government will train and nurture more young entrepreneurs so that they will become successful businessmen.

“Thus, the government is committed to ensuring that entrepreneur development remains a key element in generating economic growth,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government will provide a RM50 million allocation to the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), a one-stop centre to empower entrepreneurs. — Bernama