KOTA BARU, April 20 — The Entrepreneur Development Ministry targets to strengthen the economic contribution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to reach RM500 billion by the end of 2020.
Its Deputy Minister Datuk Mohd Hatta Md Ramli said the ministry would focus on assisting SME entrepreneurs by sourcing out bigger markets for them.
“This include exporting our products abroad and those who have not started (business) yet we are encouraging them to start with small scale ones,” he said.
He said this after officiating the Kelantan Women Entrepreneur Club (KUWAK) dinner in conjunction with its third general meeting which was also attended by the group chairman Nor Ariati Salleh here last night.
Mohd Hatta said as of now, from almost one million entrepreneurs who have registered under his ministry, 97 per cent of them were SME entrepreneurs.
“Although the number of SME entrepreneurs is high, their contribution to the economy is still small, around 37 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said.
He said if entrepreneurs could improve their business results, it would create a community group that was able to get out of poverty as well as helping the B40 group to become more successful.
“It’s not impossible, especially among women, in fact, our ministry is targeting entrepreneurs from women folk as well as graduates, to improve their business and the quality of their lives,” he said. — Bernama
