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Good practice Imported

SIRIM-Fraunhofer Programme — Malaysia's National Technology-Audit Scheme for Manufacturing SMEs

Malaysia · Shah Alam · See the Malaysia profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 83% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Malaysia's standards institute adapted Germany's Fraunhofer applied-research model into a technology-audit scheme for manufacturing SMEs, later backed by a dedicated RM10 million bank financing line — though its widely cited productivity gains remain largely self-reported.

1,898
Companies assisted, 2016-2021 (2016-2021)
60 %
Self-reported production capacity increase
40 %
Self-reported sales increase
10000000 MYR
Bank Muamalat financing line for programme SMEs (2020)
SIRIM-Fraunhofer Programme — Malaysia's National Technology-Audit Scheme for Manufacturing SMEs

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
SIRIM Berhad, with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Germany)
Period
2015–present
Keywords
manufacturing, industrial standards, technology advisory, SME productivity

Context

SIRIM Berhad, Malaysia's government-owned standards and technology body, partnered with Germany's Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 2015 to adapt its applied-research methodology into a national scheme for manufacturing SMEs.

Activities

The scheme is built around four pillars — innovation management, technology uptake, SME growth and cross-cutting support — anchored by an in-depth 'Technology Audit' of each firm's production, labour, management and technology capabilities.

Results

The programme's own materials report that 1,898 companies were assisted between 2016 and 2021, with participating SMEs self-reporting a 60% increase in production capacity and a 40% rise in sales. Bank Muamalat Malaysia signed a 2020 MOU allocating RM10 million to finance around 200 SMEs specifically under the programme.

Conclusions

The headline productivity and sales figures originate from SIRIM's own promotional account rather than an independent evaluation, so should be read as indicative; the financing partnership and continued policy backing are the most solidly corroborated facts.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
SIRIM Berhad technology-audit assessors, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft methodology partners

Conditions for success

  • adapting a proven applied-research methodology (Fraunhofer) to local SME needs
  • dedicated bank financing line (RM10m MOU) removing a capital barrier for participating SMEs

Common failure modes

  • headline productivity/sales figures are self-reported by the programme, not independently audited

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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