TAMPARULI: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP), through seven agencies, has disbursed RM7.96 billion in financing to 282,849 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives nationwide in the first nine months of 2025.
Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick
(pic) said the agencies involved are SME Bank, Bank Rakyat, TEKUN Nasional, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (PERNAS), SME Corp and the Malaysian Cooperative Commission (SKM).
“Of the total, RM770.1 million was channelled to 40,797 entrepreneurs and cooperatives in Sabah, with SME Bank alone approving RM314.3 million for 52 SMEs in the state,” he said.
Speaking after officiating SME Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme here on Monday, Ewon expressed hope that financing will continue to expand so more entrepreneurs and cooperatives can benefit.
Also present were KUSKOP deputy secretary-general (Entrepreneurship Development) Datuk Saidatu Akhma Hassan, Tuaran member of Parliament Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, SME Bank acting chief corporate strategy officer Hamdan Mohd Habibollah, and Lions Club Tuaran president Frankie Goh.
Under Budget 2026, Ewon said the government will focus on scaling up MSMEs, with financing agencies playing a key role.
Earlier, SME Bank allocated RM20,000 to provide 100 B40 students from five schools in Tuaran with new eyeglasses.
Ewon commended the bank’s CSR initiative and urged more corporate and government-linked companies to implement similar programmes to support communities in need.
