Offer direct financing to best INSKEN programme participants, Ewon tells KUSKOP agencies

19 December 2022

By Wartawan Nabalu News

SELANGOR: Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick suggested that agencies under the ministry offer funding directly to the best participants in the Program Bimbingan Institut Keusahawanan Negara Berhad (INSKEN).

He said, this is one of the best approaches to accelerate the vision of small and medium industrial enterprises (SMEs) by offering more job opportunities to the people.

Ewon added the time has come for agencies under the Ministry to offer financing directly to the best entrepreneurs and it is up to them to accept or otherwise.

"We want them to grow from micro to small enterprises and further increase their business into medium-sized enterprises which will certainly provide more job opportunities to the people in this country.

"This is the role of an agency under the ministry that is responsible for providing financing to entrepreneurs.

"Like students who get excellent results in exams, government or corporate scholarship providers offer scholarships to outstanding students. So it is better that agencies under this ministry also offer funding directly to the best participants," he said.

He said this in his speech during the Graduation Ceremony of the 2022 INSKEN Mentoring Programme, at Bangi Resort Hotel, yesterday.

Also present were Secretary General Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative (KUSKOP) Dato Sri' Suriani Ahmad, Deputy Secretary General (Entrepreneurship Development) KUSKOP Datuk Haji Zamri Salleh, INSKEN Board Member of Trustees Member Datuk Sham Shamrat Sen Gupta and INSKEN Chief Executive Officer Muhd Firdaus Azharuddin.

Ewon stated that he is proud that almost all entrepreneurs who participated in the programme are women and mothers involved in micro, small and medium enterprises.

"I was also born to a mother who used to be a small trader. Of course, my mother is also very proud of the success of her female friends in the entrepreneurship.

"Based on the successful briefing of INSKEN guidance entrepreneurs, some of them who used to be participants are now coaches or mentors.

"This makes me very proud because they also help other friends to create success in entrepreneurship. These are the entrepreneurs to whom we should give an injection of funds," he said.

Meanwhile, INSKEN's Chief Executive Officer, Muhd Firdaus Azharuddin said, the outstanding achievements of INSKEN's coaching participants gave the agency the motivation to implement more coaching programmes in 2023 so to assist more entrepreneurs.

"The INSKEN mentoring programme that started since 2017 continues to show the best performance and should be continued so that the entrepreneurs who are guided can also contribute to the national economy," he said.

He said, throughout 2022, the guidance programme created a RM8.7 million jump in sales revenue, 100 new job opportunities, and 37 businesses changed their status from micro to small enterprises.

"The overall achievement this year was recorded through the implementation of 109 mentoring programmes consisting of 1,395 entrepreneurs," he said.