Image credit: The Sun Daily
PETALING JAYA: Ahead of the presentation of Budget 2023 on Oct 7, entrepreneurs have come out to say how the finance ministry’s previous Budget 2022 had helped save their business.
Louise Chu, who runs skincare company Claire Organics, said the small and medium enterprise (SME) digitalisation grant had allowed her to not only sustain her business but expand it.
“Due to the (Covid-19) pandemic, we struggled to sustain cash flow for the business as well as to digitalise operations.
“The grant enabled us to use digital technology to upgrade our business, which was very important given that part of our model relies on e-commerce,” she told FMT.
Chu said the company’s 30% revenue growth would not have been possible without the RM5,000 grant from the government
P Vengadise, who runs a stock feed shop in Sitiawan, Perak, said the Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) micro-loan he obtained in January this year was crucial to keep his business up and running.
“In January, prices of goods and raw materials began to increase and we didn’t have enough money to buy supplies,” he said. “But once I got the loan, I could increase our sales by purchasing more goods.”
Vengadise said he was grateful to the government, finance ministry and BSN for the loan of almost RM40,000.
Budget 2022, tabled in Parliament last October, featured various schemes and grants to help SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs emerge from the vagaries of the pandemic.
Funds for micro-entrepreneurs were channelled through agencies such as Tekun, Agrobank, BSN and Bank Rakyat while RM14 billion was made available for SMEs through SME Bank, Agrobank and several other institutions.
The business financing guarantee limit was also increased, making it easier for SMEs to obtain financing during the economic downturn and the curbs on business operations brought on by the pandemic.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2022/10/04/budget-2022-saved-us-say-small-business-operators/