The Federal Government has allocated RM100mil to eradicate urban poverty under the Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) micro-credit scheme.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the allocation would help promote small-scale entrepreneurship and income generating activities in towns.

“In the beginning, the focus of AIM was only in rural areas, but now the Government wants to help the urban poor,” he told newsmen after launching an entrepreneurship seminar organised by Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd (PUNB) in Tasek Gelugor yesterday.

He said AIM loans would be open to all Malaysians.

Nor Mohamed said the first AIM branch in an urban area opened in Sentul last month.

He said those earning less than RM2,000 would be eligible for the loan.

Nor Mohamed said AIM had given out RM2.6bil in loans to 180,000 people in rural areas for the past two decades. There are 68 AIM branches in rural areas.

At the function, Nor Mohamed handed over a cheque for RM18,478 from Rapid Penang to Mercy Malaysia representative Azman Zainonabidin to provide relief for cyclone-affected Myanmar and China, which was hit by a devastating earthquake last week.