JOHOR BARU: Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) have recorded a double-digit growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 11.6% last year, says SME Corp Malaysia chief executive officer Rizal Nainy (pic).

Citing data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, he said this was an encouraging growth recorded by MSME.

“This is a significant increase compared to the 1.3% made by MSME in 2021,” he said in his speech here yesterday.

Rizal said such data clearly showed that MSME played an important role in the country’s economic recovery and growth.

“Despite its size, MSME in Malaysia are generally more resilient and have the potential to recover faster than large companies. Under the Madani economic framework, which was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on July 27, the government remains consistent and committed to giving special focus and attention to the development of MSME to drive national economic growth,” he added.

Rizal said SME Corp had made a request to the government for further allocations under Budget 2024 to help MSME.

He said about 97% or 1.2 million registered businesses in Malaysia were MSME-based, adding that they should be the focus of the government.

“MSME should be strengthened through initiatives that can help expand their business through digitalisation and preparing them for environmental, social and governance (ESG).

This will allow them to get access to the export market, which is why there should be initiatives and help from the government to make them more competitive,” he said.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/10/11/encouraging-growth-recorded-by-msmes