A transformational journey

Source From (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/25TRANSFORM/Article/

Published: on 26 March 2012

LAST week marked the seventh year I took the helm at SME Corp from my predecessor. It seems just like yesterday that the baton was passed to me from Datuk Mangsor Saad. The journey from 2005 till today - from Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (Smidec) to SME Corp - was not always smooth sailing. But it was through the turbulence and stormy weather that made us what we are today. I couldn't agree more with the Greek proverb, "You know who the good seamen are when the storm comes".

It all began on May 2 1996, when Smidec was born. The agency was established to spur the development of small and medium industries (SMIs) through the provision of financial assistance, advisory services, market access and other support programmes, very much concentrated on companies in the manufacturing sector.

Realising the need to encapsulate the services and the agricultural sector into the overall SME community, a new chapter was launched in 2004 when the highest policy-making body for SME development - the National SME Development Council (NSDC) - was established. The council, chaired by the prime minister himself, formulated strategies for SME development across all economic sectors and to ensure effective implementation of SME development programmes in Malaysia.

Smidec came in the limelight in 2007 when it was given the mandate to assume the secretariat role to NSDC. It was indeed a huge responsibility that I had to carry. Nevertheless, with the support of good "seamen", we managed to sail through the stormy weather and reached the shore safely. On October 2 2009, Smidec created a history when we were chosen to be the SME Central Coordinating Agency and re-branded as the Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp Malaysia). Today, SME Corp oversees the overall development of SMEs across various ministeries and agencies and acts as the central point of reference for information and advisory services for all SMEs in Malaysia.
Over the years, I have been very much overwhelmed with the progress made by our SMEs. I take pride in seeing them succeed over the years. As an organisation, l also notice that we too grew with them. From an agency that was previously famous for grants, we took a bold step in introducing various capacity building and entrepreneurship programmes through Business Accelerator and Enrichment and Enhancement Programmes, addressing what the enterprises need rather than what they want.

Creating SMEs from "zero" to "heroes" gives us a lot of satisfaction, and this is what I expect to see more in the years to come. Noting the fact that we can't benchmark our SMEs against other SMEs around the world by just looking at the products and profits they make, a diagnostic tool to measure the performance of SMEs was introduced in 2007. This diagnostic tool, called SME Competitiveness Rating For Enhancement (SCORE), is developed in-house by our very own "SME Corpians". Now, SCORE is well accepted by the industry, locally and internationally. It not only facilitates SME Corp to provide the right prescriptive advice and assistance, but also helps in optimal use of government funds for the right purpose. I also found that productivity among our officers are higher as they are more focused in their work since the process tasks are more structured and organised.

As we plod along, we realised that inculcation of entrepreneurial skills must start at an early stage, as the saying goes "strike the iron while it's hot". The SME-University Internship Programme, created in 2008, was designed to help university students acquire essential entrepreneurial skills to start their own enterprises upon leaving full-time education. Through this programme, participating students assist SMEs in improving their business performance and processes. Believe me, some of the entrepreneurial ideas are really awesome and mind-blowing!

In 2009, SME Corp gave birth to yet another programme, called the National Mark of Malaysian Brand. This is implemented in collaboration with Sirim QAS International Sdn Bhd. SME products and services that secure the National Mark are deemed to be Malaysia's highest quality products and services.

Through this programme, we hope to change public perception that SME products and services are of lower quality, unreliable and unattractive when placed beside the big brandnames. Recognising the importance of branding in our daily lives, we started the branding culture in SME Corp itself. Hence, each and every one of us, including myself, proudly wears our corporate shirt every Wednesday.

It was in 2009 too that our very own pool of Business Counsellors (BCs) was created. The first batch of 57 SME Corp officers was trained by industrial experts from Japan to provide advisory services to local SMEs. The BCs are ready to help SMEs at our premises in KL Sentral. We are currently training 120 more to become BCs.

As we move along, innovation and technology then became the "talk of town". SMEs do not have any other option but to embrace the innovation culture in staying ahead of the competition. The year 2010 saw SME Corp, with the support from Sirim Bhd and MIGHT, introducing the Certification for Enterprise Rating & Transformation programme (1-InnoCERT). 1-InnoCERT identifies and certifies the most innovative SMEs in Malaysia. I must say, since its inception, SMEs are gradually unlocking and unleashing the power of innovation that lies within the company! These are the companies that chart high growth and will significantly contribute towards Malaysia's aspiration to become a high income economy.

In this context, I have always been impressed with the combination of innovation and high-technology products produced by Japanese SMEs. I strongly believe that the success of the SMEs in Japan is contributed by the Japan government's strong support, particularly in terms of continuously educating the SMEs. I am truly amazed at its SME universities that are available througout the country. Their mission is to train SMEs to be skilful in management, leadership, marketing, and other business skills in order to prepare entrepreneurs for greater challenges. In October 2010, when I visited the SME University of Tokyo, I decided to adopt and adapt the module and implement it in Malaysia to provide an avenue for SME owners of various backgrounds to learn, communicate and exchange their ideas of doing business in a university environment.

In June 2011, we started the "SME@University" programme, as a pilot project at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. To date, 21 SMEs have completed the programme. Another four universities are in the midst of implementing this programme this year. It has always been my aspiration that Malaysian SMEs would one day come up to the standard of the Japanese SMEs.

It has indeed been a transformational journey for me with SMIDEC/SME Corp Malaysia. The path took us through many ups and downs from 2005 to 2012. l remembered Stephen R. Covey once said about time - "The key is in not spending time, but in investing it". We did only a little yesterday and are definitely looking forward to a better tomorrow as we aspire to create a competitive, resilient and innovative SME population.

Datuk Hafsah Hashim is the chief executive officer of Small and Medium Enterprises Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp Malaysia)