Smidec expects 500 participants to attend conference

KUALA LUMPUR : The Small and Medium Industries Development Corp (Smidec) expects 500 participants from local small and medium enterprises to attend the National Mark and Brand Entrepreneur conference, which will see successful companies awarded with the National Mark.

“This is a conference that brings the who’s who in the Malaysian industry who have branded themselves well and they will share their experiences on how they did it,” Smidec’s director of enterprise and entrepreneurship development Fadzilah Ahmad Din told a press conference yesterday.

The National Mark, which represented assurance, quality and excellence in SME products and services, was developed by SMIDEC together with SIRIM and its collaborators, she said.

Participating companies will go through a stringent process of auditing and monitoring to ensure comformity to the criteria set, Fadzilah said. “Deserving companies will then be awarded the National Mark for their products and services and are given the right to carry this Mark for a period of two years,” she said.

The Branding Association of Malaysia’s president Lewre Lew said SMEs would gain a profound insight from the captains of succesful local companies such as Secret Recipe Sdn Bhd, Securiforce Group and Esthetics International Group Bhd.

Smidec and the Branding Association of Malaysia will be hosting the event which is aimed at increasing the awareness and importance of branding for SMEs.

The National Mark and Brand Entrepreneur conference will be held at the Palace of the Golden Horses here on March 2.

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/19/business/20090219071415&sec=business