The Malaysian Indian Network of Entrepreneurs Association (1MINE) will draw up a proposal on funding from the government, which will be used to intensify efforts at educating entrepreneurs in rural areas.

President, S Gopinath said all this time, training or seminars for 1MINE members were done at 1MINE’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, given its lack of resources.

“We need funding of RM80,000 annually for rent and utility bills, as well as, transportation and accommodation costs when we are on the road.

“We are a non-profit organisation. We will be transparent with the funds and disclose how much has been spent,” he told Bernama today after a seminar on “Facilities and Funding Programme Under SME Masterplan 2012-2020”.

The half-day seminar attended by about 50 entrepreneurs was organised by 1MINE in collaboration with PlaTCOM Ventures Sdn Bhd, the national technology commercialisation platform of Malaysia.

1MINE began operations seven years ago and has currently 200 members. It aims to grow this number to 250 by year-end.

Gopinath said the members, all entrepreneurs, would benefit from the monthly training and seminars, guidance on how undertake their businesses successfully, alongside networking opportunities.

“At today’s event, our members will be briefed by PlaTCOM, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM), on how to turn their creative ideas into successful products and services, while facilitating the entire commercialisation process,” he added.

- Bernama