MSME Digital Grant Disbursement Issue To Be Resolved By End-April - Gobind

PUTRAJAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- The issue involving the disbursement of funds under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Digital Grant (MSME) MADANI is expected to be resolved by the end of April, said Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

He said the matter was raised during the recent National Economic Action Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“There was a problem in terms of disbursement of funds, so BSN (Bank Simpanan Nasional) had actually written to MOF (Ministry of Finance) about that some time ago.

“So MOF has said that they will take steps to make sure that the matter is resolved, and we hope that can be done by the end of April,” he told reporters after launching the Microsoft Elevate, an expanded national Al capacity-building initiative to strengthen Malaysia's Al readiness, aligned with the country's Al Nation 2030 ambitions here today.

Gobind said that work to address the issue has already begun, and he will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure it is resolved within the targeted timeframe.

The media reported National Tech Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) chairman Alex Liew as saying that more than 70 per cent of claims under the programme remained unpaid beyond six months, far exceeding the previously communicated timeline of one to two weeks.

The MSME Digital Grant MADANI provides up to 50 per cent, or a maximum of RM5,000, in matching grants for Malaysian-owned small and medium enterprises to adopt digital tools, such as e-invoicing, point-of-sale systems and marketing tools, with applications managed through BSN.

-- BERNAMA