A total of 1,001 co-operatives were registered in Malaysia last year, compared to the average of 600 new co-operatives registered annually before 2023.
Entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister, Datuk Ewon Benedick, described the news as “encouraging”, at a meeting with the National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund, reported Malay Mail.
Benedick ascribed the surge in new co-ops to the ministry’s efforts to popularise the co-op model through its Malaysia Cooperative Societies Commission (SKM).
Upcoming initiatives from the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives include a Tourism Cooperative Stimulus Package and the Tamu Desa Project, which is set to provide RM20m to support small entrepreneurs in the Sabah and Sarawak states.
Benedick said he was “very confident” that the ministry can generate public interest around co-ops in the coming year, particularly around the tourism sector.
