RM10.7b financing reaches 300,000 entrepreneurs as govt steps up support for small traders

NEARLY 200,000 hawkers, small traders and shopkeepers have benefited from RM10.7 billion in financing channelled to entrepreneurs in the first nine months of this year, as the government steps up efforts to strengthen support for small businesses.

Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Steven Sim said the financing was disbursed through seven agencies under the ministry, with RM3.14 billion allocated for microcredit facilities.

Of the nearly 300,000 entrepreneurs who received financing, about two-thirds were hawkers, small traders and shopkeepers.

Sim also directed agencies under the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry (KUSKOP) to process and approve financing applications below RM20,000 within 24 hours to ensure traders can access capital quickly.

He said the measure was intended to prevent small business operators facing urgent financial difficulties from turning to illegal moneylenders.

"If hawkers and small traders need capital urgently, it means they are facing difficulties and cannot afford to wait several days.

"If they cannot wait, where else can they turn for help? They may be forced to borrow from unlicensed moneylenders or loan sharks.

"To prevent this, agencies under the ministry are required to provide feedback within 24 hours," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called for a comparison of hawkers' and small traders' average incomes over the past three years with their earnings this year to assess whether government assistance had improved their livelihoods.

He urged Sim to continue working with traders' associations to gather income data and identify weaknesses in existing support programmes.

Anwar also announced an additional RM1 million allocation to KUSKOP to coordinate assistance for hawkers' and small traders' associations nationwide.

He said the allocation should be distributed systematically to ensure associations across the country benefited.

Anwar was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2026 National Hawkers and Small Traders Day carnival at Stadium Kajang on Sunday.

The ministry had received a total allocation of RM15 billion for this year.

The three-day carnival, held from Nov 29 to 30, attracted 58,967 visitors, exceeding its initial target of 50,000, while generating business-matching opportunities worth RM1.5 million.

Sales during the event reached RM715,000, up 43 per cent from the initial target of RM500,000. -November 4, 2026