KOTA BHARU: SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp) will focus on five long-term strategies to boost the contribution of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
Chief executive officer Rizal Nainy said the strategies include creating opportunities for SMEs to integrate into the value chain of large companies in eight high-impact industries.
He said the targeted industries are smart agriculture, aerospace, electrical and electronics, medical devices, halal industry, tourism, biotechnology, and oil and gas.
"SME Corp will also work to encourage the global expansion of SMEs by establishing a clear market-based framework,” he told Bernama at the Chairman Entrepreneurship Lecture Series programme here today.
Rizal noted that SME Corp will adopt a targeted approach to transform microenterprises into small enterprises.
"The other two focus areas are implementing a structured approach to support SME digitalisation and strengthening SME Corp’s role as the central coordinating agency,” he said.
Rizal also highlighted that the number of micro-sized enterprises declined to 1.10 million premises in 2023, down from 1.17 million in the previous year.
"This decrease is partly due to the transition of MSMEs into larger industry players. We found that the number of small-sized firms increased by 35.8 per cent, while the number of medium-sized enterprises grew by 7.9 per cent," he said.
He explained that this decline was also driven by shifts in the economic structure, where businesses like cyber cafes, bookstores, and music shops are becoming less relevant due to lower consumer demand.
"Based on current trends, the number of MSMEs is expected to grow this year, particularly in the service and food sectors,” he added. - Bernama
