KUALA LUMPUR: Nominations for the 24th Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards to recognise the country's top 50 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) are now open.
SME Corp chief executive officer Rizal Nainy said the E50 Awards, which carries the theme "Celebrating the Malaysian Entrepreneurial Spirit," will be open until July 31.
"We invite eligible SMEs to participate, namely companies that have received four-star and five-star ratings under the SME Competitiveness Rating for Improvement (SCORE) Programme.
"The culmination of the E50 programme will be the awards ceremony in October," he said on Thursday (Feb 12).
The E50 Awards will be held in conjunction with the E50 Export Conference and the E50 Biz Matching Session to promote business opportunities, strengthen trade networks and support the growth of local MSME exports, especially among E50 alumni.
The programme, launched by Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Steven Sim today, aims to be a platform to discuss not only the issues and challenges of penetrating the export market.
It also aims to be a place to explore new export market opportunities through regional and global trade agreements that E50 companies can leverage.
This will be followed by the E50 Business Matching Session which will bring together local and foreign buyers to expand the supply chain of E50 companies.
This year's renewal of the programme aligns with the Market Access (D) thrust under the ABCD Strategy introduced by Sim to drive the competitiveness of local entrepreneurs.
Since its introduction in 1997, the E50 Awards have received industry recognition over two decades, thus becoming a symbol of credibility in the Malaysian business world.
The awards are collaboratively organised by SME Corp with implementing partner Estilo Media Group Sdn Bhd with the full support of the ministry.
The main requirements to participate in the E50 Awards are as follows: Company status must meet the definition of an SME and be incorporated in Malaysia, followed by a SCORE Performance of four or five stars.
Companies not listed under Bursa Malaysia are eligible to be nominated if their financial records have been audited for the last three years. Subsidiaries are not eligible if the parent company also takes part.
For more information, please visit the official website at www.e50.com.my.
