KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — A total of 1,417 entrepreneurs with disabilities (OKU) received RM15.8 million in funding from Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (Tekun) Nasional from 2012 until last year, the Dewan Negara was told today.
According to the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac), the financing offered is from RM1,000 to RM100,000 with a financing period of up to 10 years and a profit rate of four per cent a year.
“In August 2022, the financing facility scheme for OKU has been improved where entrepreneurs were only charged a profit rate of two per cent a year with a moratorium of 12 months for payment until RM10,000,” it said in a written reply to Dewan Negara that was published in the Parliament’s website today.
The ministry was replying to Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi’s questions regarding the allocation provided by Tekun to OKU traders since 2012-2022 and initiatives implemented by Medac to increase the participation of OKU in business activities and small and medium-scale industries.
According to Medac, 23 OKU entrepreneurs with financing worth RM162,000 has benefitted from the scheme.
The ministry has also implemented the Capable and Reliable Entrepreneurs (CARE) programme since 2021 with an allocation of RM790,000 for training, coaching and business grants to the OKU group.
— Bernama
