Image credit: Malaysia Voice
THE Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim) wants the Federal Government to approve a RM15mil allocation to empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs) next year.
Sirim president and group chief executive Datuk Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad said the funds were needed to assist micro enterprises and SMEs through efforts such as research and development as well as certification.
“Sirim offers various grants and schemes to help businesses in need,” he explained.
He said that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Sirim had helped some 20,000 SMEs nationwide involving a sum of about RM100mil.
“Such efforts have helped them increase their productivity and revenue, where about RM7bil was generated.
“This enabled some businesses to perform better amid the pandemic,” he added.
Ahmad Sabirin said Sirim planned to continue helping SMEs as part of the agency’s people-centric, SME-centric and frontier technology approach.
Sirim is currently accepting applications for its grant programmes, which he hopes can be implemented next year.
Apart from this, he said Sirim had been engaging with stakeholders to foster closer ties with business communities and industries.
Ahmad Sabirin believes that Sirim has a huge role to play in pushing for industrial growth through the application of technology.
For more information, call Johor Sirim at 07-599 0077 or visit its office at No.3, Jalan Teknologi 5, Taman Teknologi Johor in Senai.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2022/09/28/sirim-seeks-rm15mil-federal-grant-to-further-assist-smes