KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — The government will allocate RM20 million for social business enterprises through the newly set up Malaysian Global Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC), Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today.
The prime minister (picture) said the social business model is “very workable” and that it would complement the conventional business model.
“Unfettered capitalism can lead to great inequalities of income, so we need to temper capitalism, we need to find a new model.
“As part of the activity of MaGIC, we will create a social business fund and as the Minister of Finance, I will set aside RM20 million for that fund.
“You can apply through MaGIC later, you can fund your social business enterprises, provided it meets the objectives and provided the objectives would be to change the lives of so many people for the better,” he said at the close of the Global Social Business Summit 2013 at the KL Convention Centre here.
It is unclear if today’s announcement of RM20 million is an additional sum to the RM50 million allocation for MaGIC already announced.
During the Budget 2014 speech, Najib announced that the government will set aside RM50 million for MaGIC, which is a one-stop centre for entrepreneurs that will provide financing, training, and intellectual property registration, among others.
It was reported that MaGIC would sit under the National Entrepreneur Development Office, a new unit that will be established under the National Strategy Unit of the Finance Ministry, which will plan and coordinate all activities related to entrepreneurship.
Today, Najib pledged his support to empowering young people through social business ventures.
“I believe the young ppl must be empowered, I believed the young people given the empowerment, given an opportunity, can really make a difference, can really change this world and that is why I believe in the social business model.
“If you embark on a social business model, you create an enterprise that is not self-serving, an enterprise that will earn profit but the profit is channelled for social purposes, it can solve many problems,” Najib said.
