Characteristic of informal micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia : a review

Informal sector is a major part of Malaysian economy and there is still insufficient information about the informal economic activities in Malaysia. In the term ‘informal economy’ became current as a label for economic activities which take place outside the framework of corporate public and private sector establishments. According to International Labor Organization (ILO), the common characteristics of informal enterprise includes the ease of entry, reliance on indigenous resource, family ownership, small scale operations, labor intensive and adaptive technology, skills acquired outside of the formal sector, unregulated and competitive markets. The objective of this study is to review empirical studies on informal economic activities to identify the strength and weakness of informal micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Based on the findings, this study intended to design a conceptual framework to explain the association between entrepreneurial traits and competencies on the performance of informal micro- entrepreneurs in Kelantan, Malaysia.