Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form an integral part of the Malaysian economy as they contribute 38% or more than RM500bil to our gross domestic product (GDP).
There were altogether 1,226,494 MSMEs in 2021 which accounts for 97.4% of overall establishments in Malaysia.
The pandemic that besieged the country in 2020 did not exactly leave the SME industry unscathed. Some had problems with cash flow while others could not afford to maintain their workforce. About 37,000 SMEs were unable to weather the storm and had to close.
To ensure that SMEs survive and remain sustainable, the government through various initiatives with efforts further intensified in Budget 2022
For starters, a total of RM14.2bil was made available to SMEs such as through Bank Negara’s special fund, especially the Targeted Relief and Recovery Facility (TRRF), which has been increased by RM2bil.
The TRRF offers a loan size of up to RM500,000 at a rate of up to 3.5% per annum, for a duration of up to seven years including a moratorium period of at least six months.
Another initiative of the government is to set aside RM20billion for wage subsidies and this effort is also continued through Budget 2022 for specific sectors to help employers retain their workers and keep their businesses afloat. SMEs are expected to be the main beneficiaries of this allocation.
The next phase for the SME journey would be the digital transformation is the next step forward for businesses, this push has certainly been expedited due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Large enterprises have started the journey but SMEs have had a steep learning curve in the last two years due to the pandemic to learn what digital transformation is all about and quickly integrate that into their operations.
A notable concern among some owners of the need to bring in a new set of tech-savvy staff and if technological investments will erode the dwindling reserves of the SMEs Digitialisation should not be seen as a cost but rather an investment that gives it a headstart into the virtual world as it is about having excellent connectivity.
Towards spearheading SME’s journey at different stages of its journey are many organisations, a notable among them Principal Financial Group which takes a holistic approach understands its short-term and long term goals and subsequently structures a solution for them
It customises the product for SMEs and prepares the businesses for listing 5 to 7 years down the road and more importantly prepares them for ESG. It is of paramount importance that these SMEs start thinking of ESG as the scrutiny of Malaysian companies’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices is expected to be more intense in the future.
