An Overview of Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises: Contributions, Issues, and Challenges

Abstract

Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Malaysian economy since they are the largest category of business in the country and as such provide paramount contributions. However, referring to the past studies on SMEs in Malaysia from the year 2001 to the most recent (2020) studies, it was found that SMEs faced various issues, challenges, and hindrances, thus preventing the growth of their operations. Many SMEs also have problems to ensure their sustainability as well as to remain competitive in the market and changing environment. This chapter will provide an overview of SMEs in Malaysia. The discussion begins with the definition of Malaysian SMEs, followed by the contributions of SMEs in Malaysia. The last part is on issues and challenges faced by SMEs entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

Citation

Mohamad, A., Mustapa, A.N. and Razak, H.A. (2021), "An Overview of Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises: Contributions, Issues, and Challenges", Sergi, B.S. and Jaaffar, A.R. (Ed.) Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Malaysia (Entrepreneurship and Global Economic Growth), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 31-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-806-420211004