Kuala Lumpur: Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) has allocated an extra RM50 million to empower Indian women entrepreneurs through the second phase of the Prosperity Empowerment and A New Normal for Indian Women (PENN 2.0) programme. Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan announced this addition, bringing the total fund for the initiative to RM100 million.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, PENN 2.0 was developed following the success of the first phase of the PENN programme, which benefitted 6,247 Indian women, providing a total financing amount of RM42,725,640. From those recipients, 1,062 were new entrepreneurs. The additional RM50 million fund allocation aims to offer more opportunities for Indian women to engage in business and improve their standard of living.

Ramanan made these remarks during the launch ceremony of PENN 2.0 Empowering Indian Women Entrepreneurs at the AIM headquarters. The PENN programme, launched on April 14 last year, is a government initiative managed by AIM to support Indian women in entrepreneurship.

He further stated that AIM aims to benefit over 10,000 Indian women entrepreneurs with the new fund. The target is to support both new and existing participants, enabling them to expand their businesses across sectors such as food, tailoring, beauty, and community services. Entrepreneurs who have received PENN financing have seen an increase in their income by 20 to 30 percent.

Since its inception in 1987, AIM has disbursed over RM35.9 billion to Malaysians, particularly women, as part of its ongoing mission to alleviate poverty and support low-income groups.