KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- The participation of women entrepreneurs in this year’s Enterprise 50 (E50) Award programme increased by almost 100 per cent, said SME Corp Malaysia, an agency under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.
Chief executive officer Rizal Nainy said 21 out of the 50 companies selected as E50 winners were female entrepreneurs compared to only 11 in 2019.
“After SME Corp conducted five roadshows across Malaysia, the participation of women entrepreneurs in the E50 programme increase between 98 per cent and 100 per cent compared with 2019,” he told the media at the E50 Award’s special conference here today.
The E50 Award was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rizal added that this year saw 213 participants, the highest since 1997.
“Only 63 companies were able to successfully complete the stringent selection process for consideration as the top 50 companies.
“Ten of the winners were from the manufacturing and services sector,” he added.
Rizal said two special awards, Best Women Entrepreneur E50 and Best Exporter E50, would also be announced at the award ceremony tonight.
“This is the first time SME Corp is giving an award for exporters to recognise the contributions of SMEs to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), especially in the post-COVID-19 era,” he said.
The SME Corp CEO said only companies with four and five stars under the SME Competitiveness Rating for Enhancement (SCORE) are eligible for the E50 Award programme.
Since 1997, the E50 Award has been a prestigious award symbolising business and entrepreneurial achievements.
-- BERNAMA
