Tekun cuts microfinancing approval period to four days

KUALA LUMPUR: Tekun Nasional has shortened its microfinancing approval period from seven days to four, with funds targeted for disbursement within five working days to help entrepreneurs access capital faster.

Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said the agency had introduced several measures to speed up approvals and improve access to financing for micro-entrepreneurs.

He said Tekun introduced online applications on Aug 7, allowing entrepreneurs to apply for financing without visiting its offices.

"Tekun will approve applications within four days and disburse the loans within five working days.

"Applications for microfinancing below RM20,000 would be processed within 24 hours, while preliminary approval could be obtained in as little as three hours during designated outreach programmes," he said in the Dewan Rakyat.

Mohamad said the measures were aimed at helping entrepreneurs secure funds quickly to meet their business capital needs.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Onn Abu Bakar (PH-Batu Pahat), who asked on the improvements the ministry could introduce, particularly through Tekun, to simplify and speed up access to microfinancing.

Separately, Mohamad said agencies under the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry (Kuskop) recorded 1.27 million microfinancing instances worth RM14.56 billion between 2023 and September 2024.

The financing was provided by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, Tekun and Bank Rakyat.

Of the total, 212,910 new financing instances worth RM2.19 billion were channelled through Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia and Tekun, while 1.05 million repeat financing instances worth RM12.13 billion were recorded.