Friday April 1, 2011
By TEH ENG HOCK
enghock@thestar.com.my
SHAH ALAM: A RM100mil fund has been set up to help develop technology entrepreneurs and new start-up companies.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launched the Business Start-Up Fund (BSF) yesterday, which would be managed by the Malaysian Technology Development Corpo-ration (MTDC).
“BSF is one of the Government's initiatives to help entrepreneurs develop innovative products with market potential.
New product: Najib assessing a product made from empty fruit bunches after launching the Business Start-Up Fund at UiTM Shah Alam Thursday. Looking on is MTDC chief executive Norhalim Yunus (centre).“The target group of BSF is technology-based companies at the start-up stage,” he said in his speech at the launch in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) here.
BSF is a special funding programme which does not require collateral, with a repayment period of eight years.
For the first three years, entrepreneurs do not need to make any repayments.
Najib said the Government encouraged research and development (R&D), and stressed that the finished products must be marketable.
“If it is not marketed, then it is just R without the D,” he said.
Najib said MTDC had been entrusted to manage the Commercialisation and Techno-logy Transfer Fund since the Seventh Malaysia Plan, and to date, 443 technology-based companies had benefited from grants totalling RM586mil.
At the same event, Najib also witnessed the exchange of a memorandum of agreement between MTDC and UiTM to build a Technopreneur Centre at the varsity's Shah Alam campus.
The RM12mil centre will be fully funded by MTDC.
“I believe that the expertise of the academics, coupled with the facilities provided, will hone many technopreneurs who are competitive.
“The collaboration betweeen UiTM and MTDC will have a significant impact on local inventions,” said Najib, who was accompanied by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
No comments:
Post a Comment