Sabah’s SME-UP grants reach 5,879 entrepreneurs
Assistance for halal certification and trademark registration was introduced in 2026, while further support proposals await consideration for Sabah’s Budget 2027.
Sabah’s SME-UP Assistance Programme benefited 5,879 micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs from 2017 to 2025, Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Ewon Benedick said in Kota Kinabalu on Oct 24.
Ewon, who is also State Minister of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport, said the programme introduced support for halal certification and trademark registration in 2026. The additions are intended to help entrepreneurs meet market requirements and become more competitive.
The state grant scheme supports machinery and equipment purchases, including packaging, labelling and retort machines. It aims to improve businesses’ production capacity and product quality, as well as their ability to compete.
Speaking at a Hebatkan Perniagaan Malaysia townhall, Ewon said his ministry had widened sales channels for local products through retail partnerships involving Bataras Supermarket, Petronas Kedai Mesra and AEON. Collaborations with Bataras and Petronas Kedai Mesra had given 630 Sabah entrepreneurs direct access to markets as of 2025, he said.
Ewon said the state government had approved a special policy on industrial land leases to allow local companies to construct factories at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP), supporting their move towards larger-scale operations.
He added that the Sabah Ministry of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport (MINDET) had put forward several new assistance proposals to the Sabah Ministry of Finance for consideration in Sabah’s Budget 2027.
