Starting a business is hard, especially when you’re a young adult because funding isn’t easy to come by.
During the pandemic, many youths are looking towards entrepreneurship as a way of earning income as many companies aren’t looking to hire right now.
If you have a business idea that can be realised with some capital, you might want to consider applying for a grant to get things started.
A grant is a sum of money that is given to a business to further its growth and is typically distributed by governments, corporations and foundations.
Grants are not meant to be paid back, unlike regular business financing or funding. However, a grant isn’t a donation either, wherein businesses are free to do as they please with the money.
A grant is distributed to a business based on a set of principles related to the profit or growth margin of the company.
Many young entrepreneurs started off with very little cash and lots of hard work, but this doesn’t mean you have to struggle all on your own, as getting a grant will make things a little easier to get your business going especially in these hard times.
There are a variety of entrepreneurship grants dedicated to young entrepreneurs in Malaysia to nurture and develop their entrepreneurial spirit.
The Special Prihatin Grant (GKP 3.0) is aimed at helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the grant has helped over 900,000 MSMEs.
All micro-enterprises registered with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN) are entitled to this grant.
The Sarawak Government has also launched entrepreneurship grants to enhance the productivity of youth entrepreneurs.
Graduates Towards Entrepreneurship (GERAK) and the Vocational and Technical Entrepreneurs (USTEV) are programmes that encourage youths from higher learning institutions to venture into entrepreneurship.
As the digital economy grows, it is important for businesses to embrace digitisation services in day-to-day operations.
The Sarawak Entrepreneurship Grant offers up to RM5,000 worth of funds to entrepreneurs that intend to participate in digital marketing and adopt electronic payment systems, while up to RM20,000 is offered to those who want to create digital platforms for their business.
SME Digitisation Grant also offers up to RM5,000 to SMEs that qualify for a subscription to digitisation services, in order to enhance the business’ competitiveness in the market and productivity.
There are many entrepreneurship grants available to youths, but the challenge lies in knowing where to look, and figuring out which grant is the right fit for your business.
Make sure to put in the time and effort to do research and select the right grant opportunities that’s right for you to ensure your business can grow successfully.
Read more: Creating Your Own Safety Nets in Entrepreneurship
Read more: Starting an online business without capital
