USM Local Start-up Financial Assistance
Universiti Sains Malaysia provides financial assistance to the local community supporting the start-up of financially and socially sustainable businesses through a series of structured initiatives that promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and inclusive economic development. These programmes, coordinated by the Division of Industry and Community Network (DICN) and its Unit Peneraju Inovasi Sosial & Pemindahan Ilmu, demonstrate USM’s commitment to translating research and social innovation into sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities, particularly the B40 income group.
In 2024, the Gate to Borderless Market (GBM’24) programme channelled approximately RM150,000 in business development support for Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Penang. This initiative offered free capacity-building, mentoring, and financial matching opportunities with agencies such as SME Corp, MARA, and Digital Penang to help participants enhance product quality, adopt digital tools, and expand into national markets.
The Agropelancongan Permatang Nibong Project provided RM500,000 to develop community-based agro-tourism enterprises through infrastructure improvement, packaging innovation, and skills training, while the Ekopelancongan Sungai Acheh Project allocated RM200,000 to support eco-tourism and mangrove conservation-based entrepreneurship.
Under the Social Enterprise–Ministry of Finance (SE-MOF) Rambutan Project, participants received funding for materials, processing tools, and cooperative development, earning between RM3,000 and RM7,000 per month (p. 65). The SE-MOF Black Soldier Fly Larvae Project extended start-up financing and technical support for sustainable organic waste management enterprises, empowering B40 entrepreneurs through circular economy initiatives.
Additionally, the Yayasan Petronas Empower ECER Skills Programme contributed RM400,000 in financial matching assistance, combining entrepreneurship education with direct capital funding to support small business growth across the East Coast Economic Region.
Collectively, these initiatives represent over RM1.4 million in direct financial assistance disbursed by USM in 2024 to empower local communities and social entrepreneurs. Through these targeted investments, USM fulfils the Indicator 1.4.2 methodology by providing tangible financial assistance for the start-up of financially and socially sustainable businesses, reinforcing its role as a catalyst for equitable economic transformation.
