Tekun programme off to strong start

The National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund (Tekun) has approved 38 applications worth RM302,000 for its Tekun Business Recovery Scheme (TBRS) since it was launched on Monday.

The TBRS programme is part of the RM35 billion Penjana economic stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in June.

A total of RM100 million has been allocated to TBRS, which is expected to benefit 10,000 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises.

It offers micro-financing of up to RM10,000 at an interest rate of 3.5 % per annum. A total of 394 businesses have applied for the loan thus far.

Speaking to the media after a working visit to Tekun’s headquarters here today, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said 394 applications worth RM8.7 million had been recorded since the TBRS programme started four days ago.

Tengku Zafrul also noted that Tekun’s Business Recovery Financing Scheme (CBRM), which started on April 16, has seen 25,587 successful applicants as of Tuesday.

A RM200 million scheme under the RM250 billion Prihatin economic stimulus package, CBRM has approved RM195.3 million which is an approval rate of 97%.

“Moving forward, maybe we should look at these policies and see how we can provide training for businesses, help them market their products internationally and improve their management,” said Tengku Zafrul. FMT