SME Corp To Clear Backlog Of 5,000 Applications By End-November

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- SME Corp Malaysia, formerly known as the Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC), is optimistic of clearing about 5,000 backlog applications for grants by November.

Its Chief Executive Officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim said out of that figure, 1,800 applications were for claims while the remainder were new applications.

"To date, about 1,000 odd applications have been cleared. This is the first time we recorded a backlog of applications due to the overwhelming response received from small and medium entrepreneurs reeling from the economic crisis," she told reporters on the rebranded entity's first day of operations.

SMIDEC was rebranded as SME Corp to better coordinate functions of 14 ministeries and 60 agencies involved in small and medium-scale industries.

Hafsah said applications for grants increased tremendously this year following the pressing need by SMEs to ease their financial burden.

She said between January and August, SME Corp received about 7,982 applications for grants, which amounted to a monthly average of 998 applications compared with an average of 300 applications received before the financialcrisis began.

Hafsah said the government has committed to release RM3.04 billion in SME grants for 2009 and the total grants disbursed for the year would be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in December.

Commenting on the SME Competitive Rating for Enhancement Programme (SCORE), she said SME Corp has sucessfully reviewed 2,500 SMEs.

"Twenty-eight per cent of them have been accorded three-star ratings and above and are ready to venture abroad.

"Many ministries and agencies are interested to emulate our SCORE module including the United Nations Development Programme," she added.

SCORE, initiated in 2007, is used to track the performance of SMEs in operation management, technology adoption, certification intiatives, financial and marketing capabilities. Link...