Various specialised entrepreneurial financing options for women in MEDC: Ewon

27 November 2023

By Wartawan Nabalu News

PENAMPANG: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDC), through its agencies, provides various specialised entrepreneurial financing options for women.

Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick stated that among these agencies are Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), where almost all clients are women, the TekunNita program under TEKUN Nasional, the Women Entrepreneur Empowerment Program under the National Entrepreneurship Institute (INSKEN).

"In addition, there is the BRPlus-iBizLady financing scheme by Bank Rakyat, the Successful Women Entrepreneurship Engagement Talent (SWEET) programme by PERNAS, and many other programmes that can be utilised by women entrepreneurs.

"I have also established the Women Entrepreneurship and Persons with Disabilities Development Committee at the Ministry to expand our engagement with women in relation to entrepreneurial development aspirations."

"Therefore, I hope that the Desa Women's Development Organisation (DESANITA) can play a more progressive role in developing the entrepreneurship sector among women in Sabah," he said.

He said this in his speech to inaugurate the Dinner Reception in conjunction with DESANITA's Anniversary Celebration and the Swearing-In Ceremony for the organisation's highest committee members, held here yesterday.

Ewon, who is also the Member of Parliament for Penampang, stated that in addition to special financing for women, he has also introduced several new schemes that can be applied for by women, such as the Tamu Entrepreneur Development Scheme and the upgrading of entrepreneurship stalls specifically for Sabah and Sarawak's rural areas.

"In this regard, DESANITA has a role to assist me in providing recommendations or developing a specialised entrepreneurship training module that can benefit women entrepreneurs," he said.

He stated that the role of women is crucial, not only in managing families but also in matters of leadership and national development.

"That is why I have appointed many women as board members in the agencies under my ministry as recognition of women's leadership. My ministry has 10 agencies, and each agency has a female representative, three of whom are from Sabah, namely Mary Jim, Rowindy Lawrence, and Mohini Sidom, because I want the involvement of Sabah women to be prominent in the agencies, especially those under my ministry," he said.

Ewon mentioned that in his one-year leadership of the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, all the agencies under the ministry have been actively implementing numerous programmes and providing the best for the people of Sabah.

Some cabinet colleagues have labeled me as the 'Sabah minister' because I bring all my agencies to Sabah, but it is because of the people of Sabah that I am here.

"Nevertheless, I need to serve the entire Malaysian population, and I have also stated that without detracting from the existing focus in ministries throughout the country, I want to provide additional focus on Sabah and Sarawak. I have implemented this successfully," he said.