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KUCHING (April 24): The Sarawak Entrepreneur Development Coordination Committee (SEDCC) held its first meeting of the year yesterday, reaffirming the state’s commitment to enhancing its entrepreneurial landscape.

According to the Ministry of International Trade, Industry, and Investment Sarawak (Mintred), the strategic platform brought together over 80 representatives from 45 federal and 38 state agencies involved in the implementation of entrepreneurship development programmes across Sarawak.

“The committee, with Mintred as its secretariat, aims to refine policies and coordinate the execution of various initiatives supporting local entrepreneurs.

“One of the highlights of the meeting was the ceremonial handing over of an additional RM5 million to Agrobank for the implementation of the Sarawak Micro Credit Scheme (SKMS) for 2025.

“The handover was witnessed by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan — who is also Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development II and Minister for International Trade, Industry and Investment.

“Meanwhile, Mintred permanent secretary Dzulkornain Masron presented the funds to Agrobank regional director for Sarawak Abdul Halek Abdullah,” it said in a press statement yesterday.

From 2021 through the first quarter of 2025, it added that the Sarawak government, through Mintred, has supported over 45,500 entrepreneurs with assistance amounting to RM199.49 million.

This support came via various programmes such as the Small and Medium Industry Loan Scheme (SPIKS); SKMS; Graduates Towards Entrepreneurship (GERAK); Technical and Vocational Entrepreneurs (USTEV); Go Digital; and several basic, technical, and digital entrepreneurship initiatives, along with promotional efforts at national and international expos.

Awang Tengah, in the same statement, highlighted the role of Entrepreneur Database System (Enbase), a centralised digital platform, in enabling data-driven policy planning and monitoring.

“Enbase will allow us to deliver specialised programmes—financial assistance, capacity building, and product promotion—more effectively to the right target groups, including rural entrepreneurs,” he said.

He also encouraged Sarawak’s entrepreneurs to embrace the best practices, adopt cutting-edge technologies, and align with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles to boost business productivity and competitiveness.

It was also revealed that beyond Mintred, agencies such as SME Corp Malaysia, SME Bank, Mara, Tekun, SKM, Tegas, SDEC, and STIDC have extended assistance to over 177,000 Sarawakian entrepreneurs, amounting to RM2.6 billion in aid.

Among the officials present during the meeting were Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Dr Ripin Lamat; Mintred advisor Dato Sri Mohd Naroden Majais; and senior officials from various federal and state agencies.

Source: https://www.theborneopost.com/2025/04/24/sedcc-reaffirms-commitment-to-support-sarawak-entrepreneurs/