PENAMPANG: A total of RM18.9 million in financial assistance under the Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme (BEEP) 2.0 and BEEP Plus has been approved for 182 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Sabah to date.
Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the grants, channelled through his ministry’s agency SME Corp Malaysia, reflected the government’s strong commitment to empowering local entrepreneurship.
He said the achievements of BEEP and BEEP Plus not only supported the growth of micro businesses in both urban and rural areas but also strengthened local economies through job creation and business capacity development.
“More importantly, these programmes serve as catalysts in narrowing the development gap between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia by focusing on Bumiputera entrepreneurship development in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said when officiating at the Sabah MSME Hub Open Day and Networking Session here on Tuesday.
BEEP aims to enhance the competitiveness of Bumiputera SMEs through integrated support involving advisory services, technical assistance, training and financial aid of up to RM500,000, while BEEP Plus—funded under the Micro MADANI scheme—offers matching grants of up to RM250,000 for Bumiputera micro enterprises in Sabah and Sarawak.
At the same event, Ewon presented mock cheques worth RM1.3 million to 18 recipients of BEEP 2.0, BEEP Plus and the Tunas Usahawan Belia Bumiputera (TUBE) programme.
SME Corp has approved 44 BEEP 2.0 grant applications from Sabah totalling RM7.42 million, while the BEEP Plus programme has benefited 197 Bumiputera-owned micro enterprises in Sabah and Sarawak, with 138 of them (70 per cent) from Sabah, receiving a total of RM11.48 million in grants.
