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Image credit: New Straits Times

Some 1,000 eligible small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) can now apply for a RM1,000 grant under the Bantuan Khas Kewangan (BKK) to ease their digitisation journey.

The special initiative by the Penang government, Digital Penang and Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Samenta) aims to assist micro, small and medium enterprises in their digitisation venture.

The initiative’s objective is to support SMEs in transacting and engaging digitally via business-to-business (B2B) platforms.

Samenta national secretary Yeoh Seng Hooi said the initiative would be limited to the first 1,000 approved applications and approval would be subjected to a criteria list.

“Among the criteria that needs to be fulfilled is that the applicant must be a Penang-based company with a registered business address in Penang.

“The business must be registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, either a sole proprietor, partnership or a Sdn Bhd.

“It must also be registered with a digital platform on our panel.

“We will have a panel of digital platforms for their selection,” he said when contacted.

There is no closing date for applications but the grant will be awarded based on a first-come-first-served basis.

“Once the 1,000 applications have been approved and the funds disbursed, the project will end.

“For approved applicants, the funds will be disbursed directly to the companies’ bank accounts by the State Secretary’s office and state economic planning division.

“SMEs will have to fill up the grant application forms and submit them to Samenta,” said Yeoh.

For more details or to submit the grant application forms, applicants may visit www.samenta.org.my.

They can also call the secretariat office at 04-8180288.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2021/06/25/aiding-smes-on-e-commerce-journey