KUALA LUMPUR: Through its 10 agencies, the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry is always ready to offer a helping hand for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in sustaining their businesses, says Datuk Ewon Benedick.
“We cannot deny the dynamic challenges of running a business.
"Surely it has its ups and downs, but we are ready to provide services based on the functions of our agencies," he said during the press conference at MSME Performance 2023, held here on Wednesday (July 31).
According to Ewon, there are various programmes to help sustain businesses through funding and training, especially for small and micro-entrepreneurs.
“For medium-scale entrepreneurs who are export ready, we have international programmes whereby we take them to participate in certain expos overseas to market their products,” he said
Also present during the event were Deputy Minister Datuk Ramanan Ramakrishnan, the ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Suriani Ahmad, SME Corporation (SME Corp) Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, SME Corp Malaysia CEO Rizal Nainy and Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.
Beginning this year, the permanent secretariat of the National Council for the Development of Entrepreneurs and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) conducts monthly meetings to coordinate efforts to assist MSMEs.
The secretariat is led by SME Corp and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ewon added that through better coordination, it can help MSMEs businesses with sustainability and longevity, as well as implement initiatives to further boost their development in Malaysia.
These include encouraging MSMEs’ participation in the domestic and global supply chain, enhancing MSMEs’ capacity towards internationalisation, providing inclusive financing opportunities, continuing efforts to promote the adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in business operations as well as intensifying entrepreneurship activities in Sabah and Sarawak, he said.
MSMEs have shown remarkable growth in 2023 across key macroeconomic indicators namely the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), exports, employment and productivity.
Based on the data released by the DOSM, MSMEs registered a growth of 5.0% to achieve RM613.1bil contribution in 2023 which has further affirmed their importance as the backbone of Malaysia’s economy.
Economic activities during the year were mainly driven by the services sector, particularly transport and storage, as well as wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage (F&B), and accommodation subsectors that benefited from improved tourism-related spending following the reopening of China’s international borders in early 2023.
Significantly, MSMEs continued to outperform the overall economy, which expanded by only 3.6% last year.
As a result, the contribution of MSMEs to the overall economy has increased from 38.6% in 2022 to 39.1% in 2023.
MSMEs exhibited a stronger performance, thus demonstrating their resilience and vital role as a key driver of growth and stability.
On the external front, MSMEs’ exports achieved a total of RM152.2bil as it expanded by 4.5% during the year despite the challenging external environment.
This has led to a notable increase in MSMEs’ exports contribution, from 10.6% in 2022 to 12.2% in 2023.
The export growth momentum was largely driven by the ongoing expansion in the services sector, especially in tourism-related industries and the agriculture sector.
In contrast, non-MSME firms experienced a double-digit contraction of 11.0% in 2023 after their remarkable growth of 27.2% in 2022.
Similarly, national exports' growth declined in 2023, dragged down by slower global demand, lower commodity prices, geopolitical uncertainties, a high inflation rate and downcycle in the semiconductor sector.
