KUALA LUMPUR: The global halal industry is a low-hanging fruit waiting for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to harvest, Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Mohd Yusof said on Dec 4.
Pointing out that the industry has huge potential, he disclosed that his ministry is working on attracting downstream halal business players to Malaysia, including halal gelatine and enzyme producers.
“Currently we mainly do product testing in Malaysia and do not conduct enough research or commercialise our research.
“So instead of saying one particular drink, for example, is ‘haram,’ why don’t we produce the ingredients ourselves and ensure that it is halal,” he said in his keynote address at the SME Conference organised by the British-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd here.
He said the global gelatine market produces about 450,000 tonnes of gelatine, of which only 10% is halal.
“Hence, if you can invest in producing the (halal) gelatine and fit it into your food production, for example, you can attract many more companies from all over the world.
“As a country with a Muslim majority population, we believe that there is great potential for Malaysia to venture into this new industry as Malaysia’s halal logo is widely recognised and well-accepted,” added Mohd Redzuan.
At the conference, Standard Chartered and the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creative Centre signed a memorandum of understanding to set up SEtia, a programme that aims to amplify the capacities of local social entrepreneurs.
SEtia or Social Entrepreneurs-Transformation, Innovation and Acceleration is a capacity-building initiative with a customised syllabus designed to strengthen the development of social entrepreneurs through business coaching and mentoring on business modelling, financial management, innovative marketing strategies, government policies, among others.
Standard Chartered will contribute RM200,000 for the one-year programme to support and develop 50 social entrepreneurs. – Bernama
