TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2017, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia (KBS) collaborated to promote a stronger global entrepreneurship culture among Malaysian youth-owned businesses by organising Youth Biz-Talk at Menara MATRADE today.

The event was aimed at cultivating interest in international trade among Malaysian youths and was attended by 400 participants from Institut Latihan Kemahiran Belia & Sukan (ILKBS) students, start-ups, scale-ups and high performance young entrepreneurs. The event was officiated by the Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia, YB Brig. General Khairy Jamaluddin. Also present at the event were Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry YB Datuk Chua Tee Yong and MATRADE’s Chairman YB Dato’ Dr. Noraini Ahmad.

The joint initiative reflected a good synergy between MATRADE and KBS in ramping up efforts to enhance youth engagement in exports. The event was in line with the Government’s aspiration to expand the pool of exporters from Malaysia in order to increase Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribution from the current share of 18.6 per cent to 23 per cent by 2020 as stipulated in the SME Masterplan.

The Youth Biz-Talk featured talks on various key trade topics such as on funding, training and MATRADE’s services as well as the launch of Youth Entrepreneurial Network (YEN) Portal and the launch of KBS Entrepreneur Pavilion. The event also complemented MATRADE’s Youth Exporters Development Programme (YEDP). The YEDP programme is a hand-holding programme designed to provide assistance to youth-owned SMEs. Through the programme, the companies will be assessed in terms of export capabilities and readiness, management and financial capacity.

The highlights of the event were the launches of the YEN Portal and the KBS Entrepreneur Pavilion. The former was introduced to serve as a one-stop center for promising and existing youth entrepreneurs to access information on funding, training provided by various government and private agencies, business networks and guidance for starting a business as well as ensuring their business sustainability.

The latter - KBS Entrepreneur Pavilion - was launched at Malaysia’s renowned and only permanent display centre, MATRADE Export Exhibition Centre (MEEC). The initiative will provide a platform for youth companies particularly Bumiputera to promote their brands to overseas buyers engaging with MATRADE. The 100 sq metres KBS Entrepreneur Pavilion will showcase products from eight youth entrepreneurs from the services sector for a period of one year. The display of these products will complement the other 452 established Malaysian brands from over 30 sectors housed at the 4,500 square metres centre, ultimately providing global exposure to the selected companies.

MEEC is an excellent solution for sourcing needs as trade visitors can avail themselves to information on local brands. Apart from being a comprehensive exhibition centre, MEEC also provides sourcing solutions by facilitating trade enquiries and arranging business matchings for Malaysian companies through MATRADE’s International Sourcing Programme on a complimentary basis.