26 SMEs Awarded 1-InnoCERT Certification This Year

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- SME Corp Malaysia has certified 26 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the 1-Innovation Certification for Enterprise Rating and Transformation (1-InnoCERT) this year.

Source from (Bernama): http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/bu/newsbusiness.php?id=955664
Published: Jun 13, 2013

Chairman Datuk Dr Mohamed Al Amin Abdul Majid said since 2010, 166 local SMEs have attained 1-InnoCERT certification.

"As of last month, 90 companies have successfully reached the 700-point eligibility criteria set by the 1-InnoCERT certifications programme and out of this, 26 companies are new entrants," he told reporters after a 1-InnoCERT certificate presentation ceremony here Wednesday.

Mohamed Al Amin said companies certified with 1-InnoCERT benefit from the Green Lane Policy, which gives them priority access to government procurement, financial assistance, tax incentives and customised facilitation.

"Over and above the Green Lane Policy, SME Corp in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia and Association of Bank Malaysia has provided an avenue for 1-InnoCERT companies to pitch their proposals to banks for financial assistance.

"To date RM6 million has been approved under this collaborative effort," he added.

Mohamed Al Amin said since the introduction of the 1-InnoCERT certification scheme in 2010, certified companies have begun showing improvements in terms of profit, business performance, number of employees and research and development expenditure.

He said about 28 companies with 1-InnoCERT certification have so far won contracts worth RM382.5 million for various projects from government-linked companies and multinational corporations.

"Total sales potential of SMEs with business links to mega companies like Boeing, BAE Systems and MRT Corp reached RM37.5 million," he added.

The 1-InnoCERT is a certification programme adapted from the Korean Innobiz model.

Its core functions are to identify, certify and recognise innovative SMEs through stringent and vigorous certification processes to enable SME Corp to provide more efficient assistance, customised to the needs of the SME.

In his speech earlier at the opening ceremony of the Asean-Korea SME Conference, Mohamed Al Amin said the conference was held to take advantage of the Free Trade Agreement between Asean and its dialogue partners.

"This year the conference is aimed at increasing understanding and cooperation between members of the business community from within Asean and Korea.

"It is hoped that participants amongst Asean entrepreneurs and SMEs will gain more insight into the latest business trends and best practices in Korea, thus enabling them to build a bridge to their Korean counterparts," he said.

-- BERNAMA