Kuala Lumpur: The SME Venture@ASEAN 2025 is anticipated to draw over 10,000 visitors and more than 300 local and international exhibitors mainly from ASEAN member states and trade partners, generating over RM300 million in sales. SME Corporation Malaysia chief executive officer Rizal Nainy announced that the event is scheduled from October 16 to 18 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the event will serve as a platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to showcase their capabilities, facilitate business matching sessions with ASEAN SMEs and anchor companies, and create opportunities for export deals. Rizal emphasized the importance for SMEs to not only focus on their domestic standing but also to seek new business avenues abroad. He highlighted the need for SMEs to benchmark against international competitors and adopt best practices.
The event was inaugurated by Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, who also witnessed the exchange of a memorandum of agreement under the Export Accelerator Programme between SME Corp and Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS). Ewon stated that SME Venture@ASEAN 2025 is designed with numerous activities to help SMEs explore the global market, with 200 business matching sessions planned.
The minister noted the ministry’s commitment, through SME Corp, to bring in anchor companies and buyers from ASEAN nations and Malaysia’s MoU partner countries, such as Turkiye, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Georgia, and Kazakhstan. Exhibitors will have the chance to present their innovative products and services, targeting both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) segments.
Ewon elaborated that the B2B showcase will focus on export-ready SMEs in high-impact sectors, including electrical and electronics, oil and gas, biotechnology, medical devices, aerospace, tourism, smart farming, and the halal industries. The B2C segment, under the ASEAN Market Fair, aims to attract audiences with various consumer products from ASEAN countries, such as food and beverages, apparel, health and wellness items, cosmetics, handicrafts, and travel deals, in preparation for Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
The event will also include activities supporting SME export efforts, such as workshops on free trade agreements, a forum on environmental, social, and governance (ESG), export assistance talks, tech spot sessions, export fund pitching, and product launches.