WIEF Continues To Provide Various Networking Platforms

From Azlina Aziz JAKARTA, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Musa Hitam believes the forum is the best platform in terms of nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit, progressive thinking and business evolution. He said this year's edition, hosted by Indonesia, recorded the highest participation rate to-date with more that 4,000 delegates attending the three-day event. "It also managed to attract many non-Muslim participants," Musa told Malaysian reporters at the conclusion of the forum here Thursday. He said the forum continued to build bridges through business by providing various platforms for delegates to engage with potential enterprises, collaborators and investors. Musa also was of the opinion that in the context of business development in the Muslim world, the approach should be from the bottom up. "We do have big enterprises but not as many as we would like to see. So, to encourage the formation of bigger enterprises, we must start at the medium and lower levels," he said. Musa also pointed out that empowerment of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is crucial to a country's overall development, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. He said the decentralisation of growth toward the empowerment of MSMEs is vital to ensure larger participation in the mainstream economy, ensuring inclusive economic development, spurring innovation and improving efficiency. This would lend enterprises the competitive edge to navigate through the ever-evolving business landscape, said Musa. On Malaysia's benefits from the forum, he said the WIEF had boosted the country's international standing. "WIEF belongs to and was pioneered by Malaysia. In other words, it's 'Malaysian-made'," said Musa. The other benefit derived from various memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed by foreign companies during the forum, with each company aiming to expand their footprint in the country, he said. During this year's edition, several MoUs were inked including one where three leading Malaysian companies have teamed up with an Indonesian firm to jointly develop 40,000 affordably-priced houses in Indonesia. Musa added the forum's uniqueness drew much attention to itself, with more countries expressing their intention to host the annual forum. Meanwhile, WIEF Foundation Secretary-General Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak said Indonesia, as host, was equally happy as the forum allocated more of its discussions and dialogues to MSME issues. "Looking at the number of participants, including those from Malaysia, there's a lot of potential for collaborations, something that we could look at as another measure of the successs of this forum in respect of the development of SMEs and MSMEs," he said. Themed "Decentralising Growth, Empowering Future Business", the 12th WIEF aimed to further explore the crucial role of MSMEs in driving economic growth in economies around the world. Meanwhile, Musa added WIEF would announce an alternative venue for next year's forum after its host, South Korea, had to postpone it due to unavoidable circumstances. -- BERNAMA