Malaysian entrepreneurs receive RM10.7 billion in ministry financing
Microcredit accounted for RM3.14 billion, while about 200,000 recipients were hawkers, small traders and shopkeepers, minister Steven Sim said.
Malaysia’s Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (Kuskop) provided RM10.7 billion in financing to nearly 300,000 entrepreneurs during the first nine months of 2026, minister Steven Sim said.
The money was distributed through seven ministry financing agencies and came from Kuskop’s RM15 billion allocation for 2026. Sim said RM3.14 billion went towards microcredit, with hawkers, small traders and shopkeepers making up about 200,000 beneficiaries, or two-thirds of recipients overall.
Sim gave the figures at Stadium Kajang during the closing ceremony for the 2026 National Hawkers and Small Traders Day (HPPK) Carnival. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officiated at the event.
Turning to the 2027 Budget announced on Oct 9, Sim said income tax rates had been lowered for entrepreneurs, including small traders. He said the entrepreneurship sector would receive RM67.9 billion in 2027, which he described as its biggest allocation to date. Despite challenging conditions linked to the global economic crisis, he expressed confidence that the budget measures would give local entrepreneurs scope to plan business growth rather than concentrate solely on survival.
