The BMCC in collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia successfully organised the SME Conference 2019, aptly themed “Supporting Businesses to Greater Success.” Held at Grand Hyatt Hotel Kuala Lumpur, this was the BMCC’s second large scale conference of the year, with over 150 attendees and 19 speakers coming together for a common goal of advancing the SME sector in Malaysia.
YB Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, Minister of Entrepreneur Development was the day’s guest of honour, delivering the keynote address on “Inculcating The Culture of Entrepreneurship in Developing the Growth of SME Sector.” In his speech, Mohd Redzuan touched on the National Economic Policy 2030 (DKN 2030), the Ministry’s long-term strategy enabling Malaysia to become a leading Entrepreneurial Nation by enhancing the capacity and participation of young entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises on both national and global scales. There are a total of 907,065 SMEs established in Malaysia, accounting for 66.2% of employment in 2018. Under DKN 2030, the Ministry aspires to strengthen the current GDP contribution of SMEs from 38.3% to 50% by 2030.
An area which the Minister foresees great opportunity for SMEs is in the halal gelatine industry. In 2013, the global gelatine market volume was estimated at approximately 374,000 tonnes, with an average annual growth of 3.8%. The demand for halal gelatine alone was estimated at 60,000 tonnes yearly. “As a Ministry, we have been mandated to take the lead in this project and provide the necessary facilitation and support for the private sector to establish halal gelatine hubs in the country,” Mohd Redzuan said. “Work is currently in progress to establish the country’s first halal gelatine incubator project, which has the capacity tp produce 250-300 tonnes of gelatine per year,” he added.
In acknowledging the rapidly changing business landscape and ecosystem, Mohd Redzuan expressed his support for advancement in technologies that enables positive disruption, especially in the area of financing accessibility. The Minister hailed the efforts of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia in this regard for their efforts in enabling financing solutions to become more accessible for SMEs, and welcomed the cooperation of foreign partners from the UK to bring on board potential foreign SMEs and encourage knowledge and technology transfers.
The Conference included a speech by Abrar A. Anwar, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia and BMCC Deputy Chairman, where he stated; “Being a financial institution dedicated to promoting the growth and development of dynamic SMEs, we are pleased to see MYR300 million worth of allocations to support SMEs that have the potential to become regional players.” A plenary session by Perbadanan Nasional Berhad Chief Operating Officer, Azlina Juliani Abd Jalil focused on the subject of empowering women in SME.
The SME Conference 2019 was also the stage for an MOU signing between Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad and the Malaysia Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) that aims to amplify the capacities of local social entrepreneurs through a programme called SEtia (Social Entrepreneurs – Transformation, Innovation & Acceleration).
Three panel sessions ensued with a stellar lineup of industry leaders and SME founders sharing their knowledge and success stories. The BMCC wishes to thank all our panelists and moderators: (1) Datuk Azrin Mohd Noor – Founder & Managing Director, Sedania Innovator Bhd, (2) Shamsul Kamal b. Mohd Yusof – Chief Technology Officer, MyCar, (3) Jesrina Arshad – Co-Founder & CEO, PurelyB Sdn Bhd, (4) Nicholas Loh – Founder & Managing Director, TRL (South East Asia) Sdn Bhd, (5) Lai Pei-Si – Country Head of Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, (6) Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak – President / Chief Executive Officer, Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad, (7) Dzuleira Abu Bakar – Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC), (8) Mohd Rithaudden Makip – Chief Ecosystem Development Officer, SME Corporation Malaysia (9) Tuan Hj. Ab Rahim Yusoff – Deputy Director General, Quality and Excellence Development Division, Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC), (10) Raj Tatavarthy – General Manager, Business Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, (11) Christy Ng – Founder, Christy Ng, (12) Dato’ Ir Dennis Ganendra – Chief Executive Office, Minconsult Sdn Bhd, (13) Edmund Tan – Founder, Inside Scoop (14) Captain Ahmad Kamal Kamarudin – Master Mariner & Marine Consultant, TS Maritime Sdn Bhd, (14) Wong Cheng-Fei – Chief Executive Officer, Lemon Sky Studios, (15) Sridharan Nair – Managing Partner, PwC Malaysia.
The BMCC also wishes to acknowledge the indispensable support of conference partner, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, as well as our booth exhibitors AirAsia, Big Dataworks, Cyberview, Futurise and MaGIC.
