Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are registered with SME Corporation (SMECorp) and have plans to list on Bursa Malaysia can go to the Malaysia Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDC) for direct assistance and support.
This is specifically for SMEs, which include Micros, that are looking at a 2024 listing as MEDC will ease the burdern that businesses will face when they start the process of being listed.
“Getting (onto the process of being) listed will involve high fees. (For MEDC), we have thoroughly examined and carefully designed assistance (initiatives) for Micros and SMEs (MSMEs) that are preparing for listing. (However, it is) on the condition that they participate in SMECorp’s SME Competitiveness Rating for Enhancement (SCORE) programme and receive a 5-Star rating,” said Ewon Benedick, Minister, MEDC.
He shared this point during the closing and appreciation ceremony for the 5-Star Score MSME Catalyst Programme that SMECorp hosted. During this ceremony, 48 MSMEs received their certificate of appreciation for participating in the SCORE course. From that, 21 are planning to list on Bursa Malaysia and 12 have already ventured into new overseas markets via the Trade Linker service.
SCORE is a diagnosis tool that is used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of MSMEs to enable more targeted and focused assistance. The evaluation, which uses a qualitiative methodology, is based on different parameters that follow the sector and size of MSMEs.
“Each MSME is rated from one to five stars and their scoring is the basic requirement for them to apply for support with SMECorp and relevant programmes, such as Madani Micro,” added Benedick.
SCORE, which had evaluated 73,576 MSMEs as of October 2023, is also the gateway to SME development programmes and the platform that links various businesses with investors and large companies.