Digitalisation Initiatives for The Development of ‘Rakan Usahawan PUNB’

Allocation of more than RM500,000 next year to propel entrepreneurs to remain competitive

Kuala Lumpur, 15 December 2021– Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) has allocated more than half a million in funds through various digitalisation initiatives next year to stimulate the businesses Rakan Usahawan PUNB.

The allocation in the form of matching grants incentives and subsidies to accelerate digital adoption among Rakan Usahawan PUNB with the objective of ensuring that Bumiputera entrepreneurs were resilient and competitive in facing the current economic landscape.

PUNB Chairman, Datuk Ahmad Nazlan Idris explained that among the initiatives being rolled out are Rakan Usahawan PUNB @ 100 Go Digital, jointly organised with Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

“Through this programme, Rakan Usahawan PUNB will be trained by trainers appointed by MDEC to provide exposure on the importance of digitalisation in business. The programme covers data analysis and digital marketing, exploring and identifying digital solutions which can assist them through increased sales, cost reduction and enhanced business productivity.

“The other digitalisation programme is the Rakan Usahawan PUNB @ Ecommerce Onboarding where Rakan Usahawan PUNB who are already established or who want to conduct ecommerce sales to be given subsidies in the form of vouchers and promotional packages.

“This will enable customers to enjoy purchases at lower prices and attract more customers. This incentive has been proven to assist Rakan Usahawan PUNB who joined this programme in the early phase which among other things, a total of 6,800 sales valued at RM728,000 were generated through vouchers while the average sales basket of related Rakan Usahawan PUNB increased by 1.4 times,” he said.

He elaborated that PUNB will also implement financing applications digitally for the ease of applicants while reviewing the period of the application process.  

“Currently, PUNB is updating its financing matters where the application processing period is between 35 to 65 days but this can be expedited. For example, the time period for processing loans below RM200,000 is envisaged to be reduced to 2 weeks’ time compared to 35 days to assist entrepreneurs to rejuvenate their business expeditiously thus enhancing their business growth,” he explained.   

According to him, it was apparent that Covid-19 pandemic changed the business landscape drastically and Rakan Usahawan PUNB were no exceptions.

“However, they can still compete if there were smart enough to see the changes as opportunities to grow their businesses especially through technological advancements nowadays.

“Alhamdulillah, I feel very proud when smart Rakan Usahawan PUNB take advantage of the current situation such as Airaz Technologies Sdn Bhd, a Muslimah sportswear business operator through the Inner Sejuk face mask brand which has been much required during this pandemic,” he said.

He added that entrepreneurs should also look into the importance of conducting their business online which allowed them to expand their markets, promote their products in an easy and fast manner while saving costs.

Therefore, PUNB has collaborated with e-commerce platform such as Shopee to provide promotional grants to give an opportunity to Rakan Usahawan PUNB to use their platforms,” he said.

Other initiatives include the award of business financing moratorium from 1 April 2020 till 31 December 2021 with a collection value of RM265 million. In addition, exemption of rental from April till 30 September last year followed by rental discounts of 50% from October 2020 till the end of June 2021.

For this year, the amount of financing approved was RM189 million involving 325 companies. Till 31 October this year, a total of RM165.8 million had been allocated to 457 entrepreneurs involving 316 companies. Since the establishment of PUNB till 31 October 2021, a total of RM3.5 billion worth of financing had been channelled to 11,564 entrepreneurs from 8,086 companies.

In conjunction with the 30^th anniversary of PUNB’s establishment, a campaign Maju Bersama PUNB with the concept of ‘Hero for Hero’ continue the commitment of PUNB in assisting Bumiputera entrepreneurs through financing and corporate services coupled with information sharing about entrepreneurship especially facing the business challenges during the pandemic.

“The highlight of the campaign was Ikon Inspirasi Impian which was telecast virtually on Tuesday, November 30^th through the Ikon Inspirasi Impian platform.

“It was a lecture programme which featured successful Rakan Usahawan PUNB such as the Founder and Managing Director of Les’ Copaque Production Sdn. Bhd., Tuan Haji Burhanuddin Md Radzi who presented on the topic of Marketing, Managing Director of Kacamuda Resources Sdn. Bhd., YBhg. Dato’ Roslee Muhamad Robat who spoke on Financial Management and Managing Director of Showood Sdn Bhd, Encik Abdullah Marzuki Mohamed Shaarani who presented on the topic of Leadership.

“This programme is a free programme that managed to attract around 450 participants from the Bumiputera entrepreneur community and the general public “, he added.

For further information on participating in the programme, please visit the Maju Bersama campaign micro website at  www.majubersamapunb.com.my.