KOTA KINABALU: The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry has been challenged to continue its success in improving business opportunities for Malaysians in 2023.
Its Minister, Datuk Ewon Benedick, expressed high hopes for the ministry to carry its momentum from the 2022 Strategic Plan through to next year.
He said this was important to help entrepreneurs and cooperatives achieve success and further improve the socio-economic position of the people.
"The success achieved under the 2022 Strategic Plan provides more challenges for us next year to ensure that this fully reopened economy can boost the business performance of entrepreneurs and cooperatives to a better level than the year before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said at the closing ceremony of the 2023 Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Ministry (Kuskop) Strategic Planning Retreat in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Dec 21).
He said this was in line with the theme of the ministry's Strategic Plan 2023 (Progressive, Transformative and Responsive).
"This is so we can continue helping entrepreneurs and cooperatives to further invigorate their business activities and produce spillover effects to the socio-economic development of Malaysians," he said.
Also present were Benedick's deputy Saraswathy Kandasami, ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Suriani Ahmad, deputy secretary-general (entrepreneurship development) Datuk Zamri Salleh as well as heads of the ministry's agencies.
Benedick said the ministry has set six key performance indicators (KPI) that must be achieved by 2023.
"We aim for every individual who is trained to become an entrepreneur and contribute to the recovery, growth and stability of the Malaysian economy.
"I am confident that with the implementation of planning initiatives and interventions by the ministry and its agencies, the KPI can be achieved, and further help entrepreneurs and cooperatives continue to thrive up to national and international levels.
"Therefore, continuous efforts are needed to help them generate income as well as restore and improve the economy, especially vulnerable groups and the B40 income group, who are greatly affected by Covid-19 or any changes that occur in the global economic landscape," he said.
Benedick said among the focus of the implementation and priority of the target group in the entrepreneurship development initiative under the Ministry's 2023 Strategic Plan were the increase in technology adaptation.
"This includes empowering service delivery through expanding the use of technology and digitisation," he said.
Besides that, he also expressed his desire for social enterprises to be a vehicle for facilitating effective community and regional development.
"This is important so that the impact produced from the implementation of initiatives under the 2030 Social Entrepreneurship Action Plan will contribute to the country's inclusive, balanced and sustainable socio-economic development," he said.
