In the wake of the economic downturn post-Covid-19 impact, Invest Selangor has pledged to provide solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the state through digitalisation programmes.
Selangor Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (Sitec), a secretariat under the state’s investment arm, is expected to carry out various initiatives in strengthening small businesses to be masters in information technology and technology including through workshops, classes and campaigns.
As part of the initiative, the Selangor SME Digitalisation Workshop, a two-day workshop organised by Sitec, attracted 320 participants.
“The workshop was timely as it witnessed the rise of ‘Low Touch Economy’ including delivery service, e-wallet and marketplace.
“During the recovery period of this pandemic, every merchant has to learn to digitalise their business to survive and recover,” Sitec said in a statement yesterday.
Sitec added that the third series of Pitch@Selangor — an accelerator programme by the state — would be held next month, with its Demo Day expected to kick off on Sept 5, 2020.
Sitec stated that the previous series, which was held last month, saw the registration of 1,067 guests through its live-stream broadcast and managed to attract a total 8,700 viewers within 48 hours.
The programme is aimed at promoting digital entrepreneurship and innovation, which would contribute towards the Smart Selangor initiative through the advancement of business and commercial ecosystems.
SMEs is often regarded as the backbone of Malaysia’s economy with its digitalisation forecasted to add RM79.7 billion to RM100.7 billion to the country’s GDP by 2024.
However, since the emergence of Covid-19 that originated from Wuhan early this year, small businesses were said to have been adversely affected by it, mainly due to the result of movements restriction enforced by the government since March.
Last week, a survey conducted by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia revealed that 25% of SMEs will likely cease operations if the country is hit with another wave of Covid-19.
The poll on Malaysia’s business and economic conditions showed that businesses for 78.2% of local enterprises surveyed had suffered badly during the first half of this year due to the economical impacts of the pandemic.
However, as people could not move actively like during the pre-pandemic outbreak, the e-commerce businesses were reported to receive a better demand, which gave a lifeline for small enterprises to survive.
Sitec said the state government, in collaboration with Shopee Malaysia, recently held the Selangor E-Bazar Raya Campaign.
The administration had also channelled almost RM1 million in the form of voucher benefitting Selangor merchants on the platform.
According to Sitec, the direct revenue from this has successfully generated sales revenue of RM11.7 million, indicating a return of investment of 12 times over the initial amount.
“This initiative has generated about RM341.5 million in a ripple effect to the merchants which is an increase of 341% of the total of RM1 million voucher allocated by the state,” it said.
Sitec added that the Selangor E-Bazar Raya campaign had caught the interest of 8,400 e-commerce traders.
Sitec had also conducted more than 93 e-commerce classes for the public and organised eight international and regional e-commerce and Smart City events that reached over 200,000 people in e-commerce, start-up and smart city industries.
“During this hardship, Sitec wants to focus on helping the digitalisation of SMEs and traditional business in Selangor,” it added.
Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/08/12/selangor-intensifies-smes-digitalisation-efforts/