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KUCHING, 5 Oct: The Sarawak Bumiputera Entrepreneurs' Council (DUBS) has proposed the establishment of a dedicated venture capital fund to help Bumiputera entrepreneurs especially young and new ones develop their businesses.
Its President, Datu Abang Helmi Tan Sri Ikhwan said that access to equity capital should be strengthened in order to enable Bumiputera's business to grow in new sectors including digital, modern agro and services.
"DUBS feels that Bumiputera entrepreneurs also need better access to equity capital especially young and new entrepreneurs who have limited funds to start businesses, particularly in the digital, modern agro and services sectors", he said.
He said that when he was speaking at a dinner on the occasion of DUBS's 40th birthday here last night.
According to him, DUBS has been focusing on the proposed venture capital fund for the past two years and is currently preparing a proposal to be submitted to the Sarawak Government.
"This proposal is still in its early stages and there is much to be done to bridge the gap between Bumiputera entrepreneurs and other business sectors that now have access to equity financing in bulk, even reaching over RM10 billion.
"For the business sector of Bumiputera, we hope that the Government of Sarawak can consider any form of venture capital program, whether based on DUBS recommendations or through government own initiative", he said.
Helmi said DUBS is also ready to provide support including providing mentors among the members of the association who have expertise in various sectors.
He said the members of DUBS have experience in construction, real estate development, oil and gas, agriculture, food industry and services which can be used to guide new entrepreneurs.
He also welcomed the efforts of the Government of Sarawak to strengthen the business financing ecosystem including increasing access to finance for Bumiputera entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, he said the economic transformation of Sarawak also demands that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accelerate the use of digitization, Internet and artificial intelligence (AI) to keep local businesses competitive.
According to him, DUBS is committed to aligning its entrepreneurial ecosystem with Sarawak's development agenda especially in the face of increasingly technologically driven economic change and innovation.
In addition to access to financing, DUBS also helps members by providing heavy machinery for hire to support construction activities across Sarawak.
Helmi said the management and distribution of the plant was challenging as it is located in various branches and managed by volunteers.
However, in the last two years, the facility has generated rental income of over RM1.2 million.
At the same time, DUBS guarantees to continue to be a strategic partner of the Government of Sarawak in strengthening local businesses and supporting the aspiration to make Sarawak a high-income state by 2030.-TVS
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