Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Small and Medium Industry Assistance (Baiks) has been renamed as “SME-Up” with a total allocation of RM15 million for this year.
The assistance programme, officiated by Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Phoong Jin Zhe on Wednesday, aims to increase the capacity of Sabah’s SME entrepreneurs to be more competitive, resilient and viable.
Phoong said the allocation for SME-Up increased by RM4 million compared to last year, which was RM11,032,917.
The assitance is offered to four main SME categories, namely machine and equipment (RM8 million), packagaing (RM2.5 million) , e-commerce (RM1.5 million) as well as Mesti and Halal certifications (RM3 million).
“This initiative is in line Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan which focuses on the industrial sector as one of its main thrusts in driving Sabah’s economic growth,” he said in a statement, Wednesday.
This SME Assistance Programme was first introduced in 2017 which has benefit 4,170 recipients to date.
Phoong said the SME-Up programme is open to all Sabah SME companies and entrepreneurs in the manufacturing field who produce packaged food and non-food products as well as handicrafts.
Phoong said however this excludes the purchase of raw materials and working capital.
He said sectors that do not qualify for the assistance include the service, tourism, agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry sectors.
Applicants must fulfil several criteria, including being a Sabahan, a registered Industrial Development and Research Department (DIDR) entrepreneur and having a valid business licence, among others.
Phoong encouraged qualified SME entrepreneurs to apply for the assistance this year, which can be done on the SME-Up portal at https://smedidr.com.my.
Further information on SME-UP 2023 can be acquired by directly contacting the secretariat via email at [email protected]
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