1.37 Million Informal Entrepreneurs Recorded Nationwide: Ewon

14 August 2025

KUALA LUMPUR : A total of 1.37 million informal entrepreneurs were recorded in Malaysia in 2023, comprising individuals who are self-employed or employers, according to Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, Datuk Ewon Benedick.

He stated that based on the findings of the 2023 Economic Census, 219,015 women-owned establishments were also recorded, of which 185,582 were categorised as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“As for MSMEs overall, data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia for 2024 shows a total of 1,086,386 establishments were recorded.

“Out of this number, 761,897 were micro enterprises, 306,764 small enterprises, and 17,725 medium enterprises,” he said during the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

He was responding to a question from Datuk Muslimin Yahaya, MP for Sungai Besar, who requested clarification on the current number of informal, micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs, as well as women entrepreneurs and the projected percentage of entrepreneurs involved in the implementation of e-Invoicing.

Ewon added that according to data from the Ministry of Finance, as of 31 July 2025, a total of 417 million e-Invoices had been issued by 84,000 taxpayers, including MSME entrepreneurs.

“KUSKOP estimates that only 4.0% of MSME entrepreneurs in the manufacturing and services sectors will be involved in e-Invoicing implementation following the enforcement of mandatory compliance starting 1 July 2025,” he said.

He added that KUSKOP, through its agencies such as SME Corp and INSKEN, will continue to implement awareness and training programmes related to the e-Invoicing initiative.