KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP) will strengthen support for Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to expand into global markets through e-commerce platforms, overseas regulatory guidance and product promotion.
Its Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said the initiative would go beyond listing products online to helping businesses meet foreign market requirements and stand out amid intense competition.
“We want to help Malaysian businesses to utilise global e-commerce platforms like Alibaba to bring our products and our services to the world,” he said when opening the Enterprise 50 (E50) Export Conference 2026 here today.
Also present was SME Corp Malaysia chief executive officer Rizal Nainy.
Sim said he had discussed the approach with Alibaba during a recent visit to China, stressing that cross-border e-commerce should enable Malaysian businesses to sell overseas alongside allowing foreign products into the domestic market.
He said assistance with permits, licences and other regulatory requirements would help businesses enter overseas markets, while promotion would prevent their products from being overlooked among millions of competing offerings.
Sim said SME Corp Malaysia would also provide knowledge, guidance and a support ecosystem, including helping smaller businesses understand and benefit from free trade agreements.
He said SME exports grew by more than 10 per cent last year, accounting for about 15 per cent of the country’s total exports and demonstrating their capacity to compete internationally.
“But when we say that you are ready for export, we are not leaving you to fight alone,” he said.
Sim said KUSKOP remained committed to its ABCD framework, covering productivity improvements, reduced bureaucracy, access to capital and wider domestic and international market access.
For Budget 2027, he said the ministry’s priorities were to secure more resources for businesses, lower operating costs and improve government delivery to help them compete and grow.
He said the support should enable businesses to expand beyond merely surviving challenging economic conditions and compete successfully in global markets.
The event also featured exchange of memoranda of understanding between SME Corp Malaysia and three partners: Entrepreneurship Development Company (EDC) of Uzbekistan, Lazada Malaysia and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).
Meanwhile, Rizal said 66 development programmes focusing on market access had been implemented this year, with a total allocation of RM293.98 million, including the PKS@kses programme under the agency.
“These initiatives provide financing support and capacity-building to strengthen SME capabilities, enabling them to expand their market reach, improve export readiness and gain wider access to domestic and export markets,” he said in a statement issued in conjunction with the conference today.
According to the statement, the inaugural E50 Export Conference, attended by nearly 300 participants from SMEs, provided insights into market trends, regulations and export readiness, while also expanding business networks.
At the same time, SME Corp Malaysia organised the Digital and AI Scaling Seminar for SMEs yesterday under the PRESTIGE 2.0: Global Value Chain (GVC) Programme, benefiting about 300 SMEs, particularly those in high-growth and high-value sectors.
The seminar, themed “Tech Up, Scale Up”, aimed to help SMEs scale up their businesses through the adoption of digitalisation, automation and technology.
-- BERNAMA