Its minister, Ewon Benedick, said as of this month, the ministry has produced 83,361 new MSMEs entrepreneurs.

He said the figure was in addition to the existing registered MSMEs entrepreneurs as of December 2022, totalling more than 1.17 million.

“For me, more than 83,000 new entrepreneurs being produced is a great achievement,” he said today.

Ewon said his ministry also implemented several new initiatives this year, including introducing the Tamu Entrepreneur Financing Scheme (SPUT) in Sabah and Sarawak for small traders who sell at weekly tamu (farmers’ markets) and night markets.

He said the ministry is planning to expand the SPUT throughout the country, following an encouraging response.

He said through the framework of the Madani economy, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, wanted the ministry to bring the MSMEs industry to the international market and turn it into a regional champion.

“Based on the ministry’s data, as of December 2022, of the 1.17 million registered MSMEs businesses, 78% are micro-enterprises.

“So, the focus needs to be on building these MSMEs so that they can have a big impact to realise the prime minister’s vision,” he said.

Ewon said the ministry will focus on developing high-impact industries among MSMEs, with a focus on the aerospace sector, smart agriculture, medical devices, electricity and electronics, automotive, halal industry, and oil and gas.

To prepare the MSMEs for the international level, he said, the ministry provides environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance guidelines for the industry.

“This takes into consideration that big international markets such as America, Europe, Japan and Australia require ESG compliance as an important entry criterion for any product and service,” he said.

Ewon said the ESG guidelines for MSMEs, which will be launched soon, are expected to have a big impact on the industry.