Its a bad statistic indeed if only 10 out of 300 students (3.3%) applied for the loan scheme. What could be the reasons?
– not interested?
– don’t know how/where/when/why?
– loan rules too strict/rigid?
MIC can’t be faulted here unless they did not provide awareness or proper information to the students.
RM3 million / 300 students is averaging RM10000 per graduate, which is quite a substantial amount to start small business like food stall or similar business that require less capital and investment in machineries/tools.
Only 10 of the 300 Indian students who graduated from the Giat Mara centres and National Entrepreneurship Institute (Insken) last year have applied for business loans under the Young Indian Entrepreneurs Loan Scheme run by Tekun Foundation, says MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
He urged the remaining 290 students to apply for the loan from Tekun or the National Foundation for Economic Fund Group under the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry.“Yayasan Tekun has allocated RM3 million to be disbursed as business loans for graduates of Pusat Giat Mara and Insken,” he said in a statement today.
He said the Tekun Foundation decided to issue business loans to Indian students from Giat Mara centres and Insken following discussions between the foundation and the Social Strategic Foundation (YSS), MICs social arm, last year.
Samy Vellu said although the Tekun Foundation was meant for Bumiputera entrepreneurs, its management decided to open its business loans for Indians through the help of the then Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
He said qualified Indians engaged in small-and medium-scale businesses can apply for the loan to start or to sustain and expand their businesses, ranging from small cottage to modern technological industries, food, agriculture, manufacturing and handicraft for domestic and foreign markets.Enterprising young Indian entrepreneurs can contact YSS at Level 5, Menara Manickavasagam, at No 1, Jalan Rahmat, 50350 Kuala Lumpur, telephone (03) 4041-5958 or Fax (03) 4041-5681.