KUALA LUMPUR: SME Corporation Malaysia is stepping up efforts to equip domestic micro, small and medium enterprises to expand their business, broaden market reach, and elevate Malaysian brands onto the world stage.
SME Corporation Malaysia CEO Rizal Datuk Nainy said Malaysian MSMEs and SMEs are well-positioned to scale beyond the domestic market.
“Developing competitive, innovative and resilient MSMEs is one of the key objectives of SME Corp Malaysia, the central coordinating agency under the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (Kuskop)
“To achieve this, SME Corp Malaysia continues to strengthen the capacity and capabilities of MSMEs, equipping them to penetrate domestic markets, tap into regional opportunities, expand their business networks and enhance their competitiveness in the global market,” he told delegates at the Enterprise 50 Export Conference entitled “Rising Beyond Borders” today.
Rizal said that for this year, 307 MSME and entrepreneurship development programmes have been implemented under the SME Integrated Plan of Action, with a total allocation of RM44.4 billion.
The programmes aim to strengthen MSMEs’ capabilities, encourage technology adoption and improve the competitiveness and marketability of their products, helping them gain greater access to domestic and international markets.
Of these, 66 programmes specifically target market access, with a combined allocation of RM294 million.
Rizal noted that SME Corp is advancing its efforts to help local SMEs expand into overseas markets through a strategic partnership with Uzbekistan’s Entrepreneurship Development Company, formalised through a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The collaboration is expected to open up new market opportunities for Malaysian MSMEs and SMEs, facilitate business networking and encourage potential business ventures in Central Asia.
Last year, SME Corp, through Kuskop, conducted a pre-mission to Uzbekistan that generated an estimated RM50.6 million in sales, Rizal said.
With the MoU now being formalised, SME Corp hopes to build on the achievement and deepen business ties between the two countries.
SME Corp announced strategic collaborations with Lazada Malaysia to help SMEs access regional and international e-commerce markets, and with the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia to strengthen the MSME ecosystem, particularly in the construction sector.
Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said MSMEs and SMEs are among the key drivers of Malaysia’s economy, but they operate in an increasingly challenging global environment, where the world faces multiple crises, from trade and economic wars to armed conflicts.
He said the global economy is becoming more fragmented, with countries increasingly divided into blocs, making it harder for businesses to operate across borders.
“While countries have long advocated free trade, smaller economies are now increasingly pressured to make difficult choices about who they can buy from, where they can sell their goods and which countries they can source their raw materials from.
“All these factors are making the global economic landscape increasingly challenging, even before taking into account developments in the bond markets, interest rates, energy prices and supply shocks,” Sim said.
He noted that SME Corp is stepping up efforts to equip SMEs with the information, knowledge and support they need to navigate the complexities of international trade, including the country’s more than 17 free trade agreements (FTA).
“We want to provide SMEs with guidelines on how to navigate this increasingly complex FTA landscape. Having more than 17 FTAs can be daunting for small businesses, but we are here to guide them through the process,” he said.
Malaysia, Sim said, needed to develop a two-way cross-border e-commerce ecosystem that would allow local businesses to reach international markets, rather than simply serving as a destination for overseas goods.
“We welcome businesses from around the world to trade in Malaysia, but we do not want goods to flow into our market without giving Malaysian products and services the same opportunity to reach consumers overseas.”
He said discussions with China’s Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, had focused on helping Malaysian businesses leverage global e-commerce platforms to expand their international reach.
However, he stressed that getting SMEs listed on these platforms was only the first step.
To address the challenges they face in going global, he proposed a three-pronged strategy centred on platform access, regulatory facilitation and promotion.
“First, we need to help SMEs get onto these platforms. Even the listing process can be complicated, so we want to make it easier for businesses to establish their presence on global e-commerce marketplaces.
“Second, we need to facilitate access to the necessary permits and licences. Businesses looking to enter overseas markets must navigate different forms, regulations, guidelines and legislation. We want to ensure they receive the necessary assistance to meet these requirements.”
The third prong, Sim said, would focus on ensuring Malaysian SMEs could stand out in an increasingly crowded global marketplace.