Bright future: Ramanan (left) visiting a booth after attending the briefing at SME Corp headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. With him is Rizal (second left). — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of RM134.6mil has been allocated to empower and enable micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to penetrate the international market, says Datuk Ramanan Ramakrishnan.
The Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister said the funds were allocated through the ministry’s agency, SME Corp Malaysia.
He added that the fund would be used for various initiatives and enabling entrepreneurs to penetrate a wider market at the international level.
“Through programmes and initiatives planned this year, the ministry, through its agencies, including SME Corp Malaysia, remains committed to empowering the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“The commitment is in line with the vision of the National Entrepreneurship Policy 2030 to make Malaysia a superior entrepreneurial country,” he told a press conference after attending a briefing at the SME Corp headquarters here yesterday.
Ramanan said the move is in line with the Madani Economy framework to restructure the economy towards making Malaysia an economic leader in the South-East Asian region.
“This commitment also takes into account the mid-term review of the 12th Malaysia Plan, which has set clear targets for MSME growth by 2025.
“The target involves a 41% contribution to the gross domestic product, 15% to exports, 3.5% in average labour productivity growth and 90% for MSMEs to digitise their business operations.”
According to him, throughout last year, SME Corp had channelled a total of RM131.3mil and this had benefited 22,861 MSMEs nationwide.
Ramanan said the initiative also involved financial assistance for export purposes, namely the Bumiputera Export Promotion Programme and SMEs Go Global programme.
He said this is aside from programmes to develop export capabilities and capacity, and business matching.
At the same time, he said, the Business Accelerator Programme, which was temporarily halted due to an insufficient allocation, will be reintroduced to MSMEs this year with RM55mil allocated.
SME Corp chief executive officer Rizal Nainy said the RM134.6mil will assist about 16,700 MSME entrepreneurs, who will receive benefits to expand and internationalise their business this year.
“In addition, SME Corp will continue to implement other key programmes such as the Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme, Bumiputera Youth Entrepreneur Buddies, Export Strengthening Programme, Strategic Industry Improvement Programme and High-Performance Companies, as well as the BizMe Programme for inclusive enterprise development.”
