Source from (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/afsa/Article/
Published: Jun 17, 2013
Towards this, what we need to acknowledge is the "Global Phenomenon" of connecting the world with human networks. This is where innovative and creative ideas, powered by intellectual property and technology, assume a developmental role.
For more than 17 years, SME Corp Malaysia has been encouraging SMEs to realise their true potential and capabilities, as well as take advantage of the immense global opportunities that are abound.
Our pace had hardly slowed down and the dust had barely settled when we were all ready to welcome another world-class, action-packed event, SMIDEX 2013 - SME Annual Showcase, which was held on June 12-14, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Held back-to-back with SMIDEX 2013 was the Asean-Korea SME Conference 2013. What a test of stamina and resilience it was on our part!
If I go back in history, the genesis of Asean nearly five decades ago was based on a set of principles that promised acceleration of economic growth, active collaboration and mutual assistance among its members and not forgetting the promotion of regional peace and stability.
Today, Asean as a concept and community has evolved to represent one voice, one agenda - in terms of effective coordination; mobilisation of local, regional and international resources; efficient and effective implementation, promotion of public-private partnerships; and encouraging mutual assistance, among others.
All these formed the basis for meaningful debates, discussions and dialogue at the institutionalised Asean-Korea SME Conference, driving home the need to bridge cultural gaps and benefit from regional integration of business and trade interests.
This year's two-day conference, in many ways, echoed the theme of the 22nd Asean Summit in April this year - Our People, Our Future Together - as regional delegations visited Malaysia in the spirit of building a stronger Asean Community to meet the challenges of the future.
For the Malaysian stakeholders, the intention to include the critical mass of SMEs at the conference was more than just an opportunity to fully engage and devise new growth strategies by identifying and leveraging on collective and complementary capacities and expertise resident within the Asean Community.
The Asean-Korea SME Conference intended to bring entrepreneurs and SMEs within the region to establish business linkages that continue to capitalise on the vast opportunities offered by a mutual and common platform under the Asean-Korea free trade agreement.
I would say the conference was able to inspire, create and leverage on opportunities for top global businesses - especially among the diverse Asean entrepreneur community - to sample, experience and savour, as well as gain better insights into the economic vibrancies of one another.
Dr Toh Kyung-Hwan, director general of Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) Korea, averred at the conference that in the bigger scheme of growth, the Asean entrepreneur community are the "hidden champions" that can drive sustainable economic development by sharing lessons and best practices.
This was reinforced by Park Cheol-Kyu, president of Small & Medium Business Corporation (SBC), when he said that in today's age of convergence and creation, SMEs can come together to make a big difference in the global marketplace.
The success of the Asean community will depend on those who can create smarter ideas, work with global partners, pioneer or deploy good investment strategies, think out of the box, reinvent, take risks, mobilise multi-functional resources and drive innovation-led growth.
Back-to-back with the conference, SMIDEX 2013 was graced by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar.
The event provided a platform for an increasing number of Malaysian SMEs to display and exhibit their innate capabilities in producing and supplying high quality of products and services for the domestic, regional and international markets.
This year, SMIDEX 2013 focused on the implementation of the SME Masterplan 2012-2020, with the theme "SMEs Changing the Game".
A business lifestyle concept was showcased, which presented everything anyone may need to know about a progressive business lifecycle, from the initial stages of business start-up to becoming global champions.
The exhibition at the SME Showcase addressed the needs of SMEs right from the ideation stage, registration of business entity, provision of support (infancy stage through the commercialisation of research and development results) to the exploration of business opportunities in the export markets.
The three-day event included the exciting pocket talks for SMEs, guided-tour sessions, competitions for visitors, a photography competition and product launches.
The event saw an influx of visitors, with 400 exhibition booths and 260 participating establishments from the government and corporate sectors, as well as foreign companies from India, Korea, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Brunei under the International Pavillion.
Renowned local organisations such as Celcom (M) Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF) and RHB Bank Bhd added colours to the showcase.
With the support and sponsorships from MIDF, TM, Legoland Malaysia and CIMB Bank, the showcase was undoubtedly the best ever.
With such diversity in terms of concept, approach and participation, many SMEs seized the opportunity to participate in and explore new ways of doing business.
I was particularly ecstatic to see business owners and SMEs taking part in 165 business-matching sessions that were conducted on-site during the event.
A new record of RM322.24 million potential sales was recorded - 30 per cent higher than the potential sales recorded in 2012. This all-time high potential sales value was made possible with the presence of our partners at the business-matching sessions, which included multinational corporations such as aerospace players Boeing Company, BAE Systems, Dassault Aviation and Snecma; hypermarket brands such as Giant, The Store, Tesco and AEON; automotive manufacturing companies like HiCom Diecasting Sdn Bhd, Hicom Teck See Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Oriental Summit Industries Sdn Bhd and PHN Industry Sdn Bhd; and online business platforms, namely MDEX and PostMe.
These business meetings helped explore potential outsourcing opportunities with the SMEs. The icing on the cake for the SMEs were the MoUs that were signed at the event between SME Corp Malaysia and SBC and Small Enterprise Development Fund (Yemen) and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (Kazakhstan), which opened up a whole new world for business and trade cooperation and collaborations.
I would say that the value generated by SMIDEX 2013 could be best summed up from the message shared by Datuk Ir. Mohamed Al Amin Abdul Majid, chairman of SME Corp Malaysia at the event: "SMIDEX 2013 will expose our SMEs to vast business potential, ideas for wealth creation, innovation and creativity. And most importantly, an opportunity to showcase technology, products and services to the world market."
What was once exclaimed by a poet - "Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door" - is what we need to do as aspiring SMEs, geared to enter into a new era of transformation. We will find success in the most unexpected hour, in the most unexpected form and at the most unexpected place.
So, continue to see and open your door of opportunities at every high-potential event, such as the just concluded SMIDEX 2013, the Asean-Korea SME Conference and the upcoming SME Week, poised to be held nationwide on June 24-30.
You might just find that "oyster" with the perfect pearl!
Datuk Hafsah Hashim is the chief executive officer of Small and Medium Enterprises Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp Malaysia)
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