GEORGE TOWN, Aug 8 — A total of 101 entrepreneurs in Penang have received assistance under the TEKUN Business Recovery Scheme (TBRS) provided by TEKUN Nasional set up to help traders affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar presented the assistance in a ceremony here, today.
Wan Junaidi in a statement said the government has allocated an RM100 million fund under the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) to assist the affected micro-entrepreneurs.
He said the scheme which was launched on July 13, offers micro-financing of up to RM10,000 at an interest rate of 3.5 per cent per year, and has been distributed to 2,413 entrepreneurs across the country involving a total sum of RM17.8 million.
About 10,000 micro-entrepreneurs are expected to benefit from the TBRS.
Meanwhile, a TBRS recipient, AhBasri Satay managing director Ahmad Basri Abdullah expressed his appreciation to the government over the assistance.
“We are very grateful because RM10,000 is very valuable for traders like us who have been facing great challenges in business due to COVID-19,” he said.
Ahmad Basri, who has been running the satay business since 2006, and currently owns two branches in Bayan Lepas and Juru, said the number of sales dropped by almost 50 per cent during the pandemic.
Cosmetics entrepreneur Sarah Ahmad, 38, meanwhile said the assistance would help in terms of recovering her business.
“When the Movement Control Order was enforced, I had to close shop for more than two months and it impacted my income badly. But with this scheme, I can have some money to start over,” she said. — Bernama
