KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have begun making significant strides in scaling up, according to Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
He said MSME growth data reveals a positive trend of reduction in the number of micro-sized enterprises and increase in small and medium-sized enterprises.
The number of micro-sized enterprises were down 6.9 per cent, from 923,667 in 2022 to 767,421 in 2023.
"Conversely, the number of small-sized enterprises has surged by 35.8 per cent, and medium-sized enterprises have seen a 7.9 per cent increase."
"These changes indicate a noteworthy transition for Malaysia's MSME, signaling that many are moving to a higher level of operation or scaling up their businesses," he said at a press conference in conjunction with MSME 2023 overall contribution here, today.
MSMEs have shown remarkable growth in 2023 across key macroeconomic indicators namely the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), exports, employment and productivity.
Based on the data released by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia (DOSM), MSMEs registered a growth of 5.0 per cent to achieve RM613.1 billion contribution in 2023 which has further affirmed their importance as the backbone of Malaysia's economy.
Significantly, Ewon said MSMEs continued to outperform the overall economy which expanded by only 3.6 per cent last year.
"As a result, contribution of MSMEs to the overall economy has increased from 38.6 per cent in 2022 to 39.1 per cent in 2023."
"MSMEs exhibited a stronger performance, thus demonstrating their resilience and vital role as a key driver of growth and stability," he said.
In addition, Ewon said the performance of MSME in 2023 demonstrates the effectiveness of the policies and interventions implemented by the government.
Therefore, he believes the government will continue to prioritise PMKS in the 2025 Budget.
"With a larger budget injection, it will be possible to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of PMKS, thus improving their performance in Malaysia's economic development."
"With this, I am optimistic that we will achieve the target of a 41 per cent contribution of MSME to GDP by 2025, as outlined under the 12th Malaysia Plan," he added.