KUSKOP Outlines Four Pillars To Drive Local Business Growth

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20  (Bernama) --The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP) has outlined four main pillars to strengthen the competitiveness of local businesses, setting the direction for the ministry in 2026 and beyond.

Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said these pillars form a strategy known as “ABCD,” which stands for Accelerating Productivity, Bureaucracy Reduction, Capital Accessibility, and Developing Market Access.

“I encourage all KUSKOP staff, both at the ministry and its agencies, to focus on our mission to enhance Malaysian businesses through this strategy,” he told reporters after delivering his New Year’s message here today.

Sim said component A focuses on increasing business productivity, especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), by improving worker skills, addressing labour needs, and using technology like automation and digitalisation.

For component B, he said the ministry would simplify procedures, speed up approvals, and promote online systems to reduce bureaucratic barriers to business growth.

Component C ensures that local businesses can access capital to seize investment opportunities and meet international demand, especially in challenging global economic conditions.

“Component D aims to ensure that improved productivity, reduced bureaucracy, and financial support lead to real growth, giving MSMEs and local products a chance to benefit from the country’s economic progress,” he said.

Sim also highlighted the government’s injection of nearly RM34 billion, which includes salary increases for civil servants and various aid programmes like the School Assistance Programme, Rahmah Cash Aid (STR), and Rahmah Essential Aid (SARA), offering significant opportunities for local businesses to grow.

In addition, he said KUSKOP would collaborate with financial institutions and other ministries to lower financing costs and simplify access to credit, apart from encouraging government agencies, government-linked companies, and the private sector to prioritise and support locally made products.

Sim is confident that the consistent implementation of the ABCD strategy would drive significant changes in the country’s business landscape.

-- BERNAMA