Access to grants, moratorium can help MSMEs to stay afloat, expand - entrepreneur

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- Increasing access to grants and loans and providing targeted moratorium to tackle issues of cash flow recommended by the National Recovery Council (MPN) can help the business sector to stay afloat and expand, said an entrepreneur.

Lakuna Resources director Rosyanti Ismail, 39, said the initiative could help entrepreneurs to ease the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and face world economic uncertainty expected to hit next year.  

"In today's economic situation with the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) going up, the price of goods and the cost of raw materials increasing, people are more cautious when shopping and if this situation continues it will affect businesses," she told Bernama recently.

Rosyanti said the access to grants, loans and moratorium facilities would allow her food manufacturing company, which has been in business since 2008, to expand, hence providing more jobs to the people. 

The entrepreneur who managed to open two coffee outlets under the KOMe Koffee brand this year said the increased access would help cover marketing costs for products under the brand in the company’s effort to penetrate local hypermarkets.

During MPN’s National Seminar: National Recovery and Social Inclusion which took place on Oct 13 the council also urged the government to introduce incentives for digital availability to allow micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to increase productivity.

MPN also wanted recovery efforts to stress national education quantity and quality and improve people’s skills with a focus on digitalisation and advanced technology.

Kasim Taib, 54, a father of three said efforts to improve skills of digitalisation and high technology among young people should be prioritised for the sake of their future, adding that the government should take into account the fields of study that are industry-relevant for the long term.

"Study programmes must be relevant with the current situation and … needed for the long term because we are worried about surplus labour supply and unemployment," he said.

-- BERNAMA