THE Selangor government is expected to attract more than 10,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for its second e-Baazar initiative this year.
The one-month programme coordinated by Invest Selangor Bhd and Selangor Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (SITEC) will channel RM2 million worth of subsidy in the form of vouchers through the event.
Selangor state executive councillor for investment, industry and commerce, and SME, Datuk Teng Chang Khim (picture), said the initiative aims to assist SMEs in embracing digitalisation in the wake of the current environment.
“Selangor is the only state to launch two major online voucher campaigns back-to-back to accelerate the digitalisation of SMEs during this critical moment,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Teng said the initiative will be held concurrently on two of the country’s largest online business platforms — Shopee Malaysia and Lazada Malaysia.
He welcomed merchants with registered Selangor addresses to participate in the campaign for free through SITEC’s website.
This, he said, includes existing e-commerce merchants from Shopee and Lazada, as well as prospective traditional merchants who want to start selling online.
The e-Baazar initiative is also in conjunction with the Nov 11 Singles’ Day Mega Sales campaign.
On the day, Shopee and Lazada will organise a special microsite on their respective platforms.
Lazada Malaysia CEO Leo Chow said programmes such as this are pertinent to encourage consumer spending, hence, helping the economy revive during the Covid-19 crisis.
“With one-third of the Malaysian population buying online through our platform every month, we look forward to continuing working with SITEC through the Selangor e-Baazar campaign, and assisting Malaysians to save money,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shopee regional director Ian Ho said following the success of the first Selangor e-Baazar Raya in May, the e-commerce player is optimistic to continue cooperating with the Selangor government for the Nov 11 Mega Sales.
“We are optimistic that Selangor e-Baazar 11.11 will generate good results for the state entrepreneurs and contribute to the prosperity of the state’s economy, simultaneously offering affordable essential goods during uncertain times,” he said.
“While it might be overwhelming for traditional and small businesses to find their footing in the digital space within a short time, business owners must possess the right mindset to adopt the best practice, in order to compete in the new norm,” Ho added.
The month-long campaign ends on Nov 26.
Teng said the previous Selangor e-Baazar Raya campaign, which lasted for two months from May 4 to July 4, was satisfactory.
From the RM1 million worth of vouchers channelled by the state government, the merchants successfully generated RM11.7 million as direct revenue, indicating a return of investment of 12 times over the initial amount.
Moreover, he said through research and market findings, it was noted that this initiative had generated about RM341.5 million in ripple effect to the SMEs.
These include economic, socio-economic and branding effects that have created positive impacts towards the merchants, including their offline operations, job creation, online customer traffic, publicity, social media hype and more.
This is an increase of 341% of the total of RM1 million worth of vouchers allocated by the Selangor government, Teng said.
Source : https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/10/27/selangor-to-woo-10000-smes-for-11-11-e-baazar/