SME players share success stories during 4th Annual Malaysia SME Congress

0

PETALING JAYA: With its focus on the food and beverage (F&B) industry this year, the 4th Annual Malaysia SME Congress 2012 featured three of Malaysia’s leading small and medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs who shared their journey towards building successful businesses.

With the theme ‘All SMEs Matter’, the congress continued its objective of motivating and inspiring Malaysian SMEs towards greater local and international success.

The players include LOOB Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Bryan Loo, Noraini Cookies worldwide founder and managing director Noraini Ahmad, The Big Rajah Caterers chief executive officer John William and owner of Kebab Turki Baba Rafi from Indonesia, Hendy Setiono.

Key elements shared during the sessions included the speakers experience in developing a business idea into a foolproof business plan, recognising a unique market need and fulfilling it, making the right contacts and overcoming challenges in a planned manner to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business.

The opening ceremony was officiated by Datuk Dr Mohamed Al Amin, chairman of SME Corporation Malaysia Bhd (SME Corp).

In his opening speech, he elaborated on how SMEs in Malaysia contribute to economic development by virtue of their sheer number and increasing share in employment and gross domestic product.

“SMEs must come to realise that their role in the Malaysian economy will strengthen the resilience of the country to face a competitive and challenging global environment. The growth of SMEs in Malaysia will open up a more competitive playing field that will pave the path to bigger innovations and larger achievements.”

According to Wayne Lim, group chief executive officer of Malaysia SME, “It is very heartening to see that during the course of the past three editions, many SMEs have benefited from the congress. To see that more are benefiting is what drives my team to consistently strive to deliver a better event for the SME community.”

The Malaysian SME Congress was mooted four years ago with the humble goal of inspiring and motivating SME entrepreneurs.

Since SME entrepreneurs are constantly faced with different sorts of challenges in running an SME business, the best solution in overcoming the never-ending challenges is to stay motivated and believe in the same cause.

The congress was endorsed by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and supported by SME Corp, the Associate Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce, Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises Association, Malaysian Retailer – Chains Associations and Branding Association of Malaysia.