Provide SME Hub at Sabah Trade Centre – SME Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: The redevelopment of the Sabah Trade Centre should include a hub for the small and medium industries (SMEs).
According to the SME Association of Sabah (SME Sabah), the hub can act as a One Referral Centre aims to equip Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with filtered and focused information and knowledge to aid their development. SME Sabah President Professor Datuk Foo Ngee Kee in a statement said that currently, the method of obtaining information on entrepreneurship was limited.
“But with the proposed SME Hub, MSMEs can access relevant information online and offline with ease and timely,” he said.
He added that information provided by the SME Hub is not limited to programmes that are implemented by MIDE Sabah, but also those under various other organisations and government agencies, such as KUSKOP, SME Corp, SSM, MARA, BNM, MITI, MATRADE, MPC and HRD Corp.
SME Hub, he said, is the platform for MSMEs and entrepreneurs to acquire knowledge, learn business best practices, and obtain essential information on business startup, market access, human capital development, financial resources, industry know-how, and many other business aspects.
The range of services offered at the SME Hub can include Business Advisory Services; SME Hub Links (collaborations with other government agencies and organisations); Pocket Talks; Info Centre (Info Mail, Info Line); Resource Centre; SME Product Gallery; and Virtual SME Hub (SME Corp. Malaysia Website, SME Info Portal).
Foo disclosed that 76 per cent of all SMEs are micro businesses with a turnover of up to RM300,000 or less than five workers.
Most micros have limited time and lack business management knowledge, he said, adding that their time is mostly involved in all aspects of the business operations including delivery of their products.
An SME Hub can be of great assistance to the development of both Micros and SMEs by providing a range of services either free of charge or at minimal fees, he said, adding that a SME Product Gallery would enable MSMEs to showcase their products at an affordable cost.
“Many good Sabah products are homemade and not well promoted due to lack of capital and access to suitable and affordable marketplace. We hope that the re-development of the Sabah Trade Centre can make provisions for a SME Hub to offer all the above services to MSMEs at minimal costs if not free of charge,” Foo said.
The Sabah Cabinet has instructed the Ministry of Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship to formulate a comprehensive future redevelopment plan for Sabah Trade Centre.