File photo for illustration purposes
KUCHING: Sarawakian entrepreneurs and businesses are urged to take advantage of the state government’s various assistance to adapt or embrace digital technology in running their businesses and transactions.
Assistant Minister of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais said that the state government, through his ministry, had implemented several initiatives to assist Sarawakian entrepreneurs and businesses to ensure that they had access to the digital technologies to be able to run their businesses digitally.
Speaking in Astro’s talk show Agenda Awani on Sunday evening, he said among the initiatives were Platform Bazaar Rakyat Online Sarawakku Sayang (BROSS) and the Sarawak Entrepreneurship Grant, which are aimed at encouraging businesses to embrace the digital economy through various IT and digital technologies.
“A total of about 7,600 small entrepreneurs are participating in BROSS to date, with total transactions for the Ramadan fasting month alone at RM35 million,” said Naroden.
BROSS was announced and launched on April 25, 2020.
For the Sarawak Entrepreneurship Grant, Naroden said it was separated into three categories.
Elaborating on the three categories, he said that the first was the Sarawak eCommerce and Innovation Grant which gives up to RM5,000 worth of grant to entrepreneurs that wants to participate in digital marketing and adoption of electronic payment systems, and grant up to RM20,000 for those who want to create digital or e-platforms for the business community.
“The second is the Sarawak Marketing Development Grant, where a maximum of RM20,000 will be given to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participating in national and international expos.
“The third grant is the Product Development and Commercialisation Grant of up to RM200,000 for programmes or projects involving the development and commercialisation of products,” he said.
Apart from that, Naroden said his ministry even assisted entrepreneurs and small businesses wanting to promote their products or services online through various social media platforms such as Youtube and TikTok.
Other government assistance provided by the state government for small entrepreneurs and businesses, and those aspiring to be on, he explained, include the SME Loan Scheme (Skim Pinjaman Industri Kecil Sederhana or SPIKS), Graduan Ke Arah Keusahawanan (GERAK) grant, and the Usahawan Teknikal dan Vokasional (USTEV) grant.
“The Covid-19 pandemic and the various stages of the Movement Control Orders (MCO) have shown how important the digital economy is to our daily lives as well as to the economy of the state.
“This has brought about changes in our economic landscape to focus more on the use of digital technology in our lives as well as regular business operations,” he said.