The SME sector contributed about 35.9 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product in 2015, accounted for 17.8 per cent of exports and provided jobs for 65 per cent of the population. - Pic Astro AWANI / Shahir Omar

JELI: The government hopes to see at least 22 per cent of the country's small and medium enterprises penetrate overseas markets for their products by 2020, says International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

At present, only 17 per cent of the 690,000 SMEs in the country have successfully gained a foothold in the export market.

"For now, big companies are contributing more to the export trade than smaller ones.

"For this reason, SMEs must network with multinational companies," Mustapa said after simultaneously launching the SME Week, Jeli Entrepreneurship Expo and Mobile Community Transformation Centre here on Saturday.

The SME sector contributed about 35.9 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product in 2015, accounted for 17.8 per cent of exports and provided jobs for 65 per cent of the population.

Meanwhile, SME Corp Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim said since the launch of the SME Week on May 23, sales of RM2.4 million were already generated and business matching, worth RM30 million, was also clinched.