BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry said it is targeting potential sales of RM12mil, including through business matching, in conjunction with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Week Northern Zone over three days ending today.
Its deputy minister K. Saraswathy said the programme is an annual event by SME Corp Malaysia and the northern zone covers Penang, Perak, Kedah and Perlis.
“MSME Week 2023 Northern Zone, held in conjunction with the National Entrepreneurship Week organised by the ministry, can promote local MSME products and services and open up more business opportunities for all parties.
“It starts with the Northern Zone in Penang followed by Sarawak, the Southern Zone in Melaka, the East Coast Zone in Pahang and Sabah.
“The highlight of National Entrepreneurship Week and MSME Week 2023 at the national level will be held from July 7-9 at Dataran Merdeka.”
The national event be officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, she told reporters after the opening of MSME Week 2023 Northern Zone at the SP Arena here yesterday.
The event was officiated by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and attended by SME Corp chief executive officer Rizal Nainy and state trade, industry and entrepreneur development committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain, Bernama reported.
Saraswathy said the programme also aims to recognise the role and contribution of MSMEs to the country’s economic development.
She said in addition to raising public awareness about MSME products and services, the annual MSME Week also offers a platform for disseminating information on financing and development programmes offered by various ministries and government agencies.
“Last year, MSMEs recorded a contribution of RM518.1bil or 37.4% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and provided job opportunities to 7.32 million people,” she added.
She said the MSME Week Northern Zone this time highlighted the uniqueness and excellence of local MSME products, especially from Penang, Perak, Kedah and Penang, including traditional foods such as putu perak, peneram, and pekasam.
There were 90 booths in the MSME Week Northern Zone exhibition and sales carnival.
