SELANGOR SME DIGITALISATION WORKSHOP STRENGTHEN THE ECOSYSTEM OF SME

SHAH ALAM, 13 AUGUST 2020 – The Selangor SME Digitalisation Workshop organised by the Selangor Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (SITEC) was well received with 320 people have registered to attend using Eventbrite ticketing platform.

The workshop was held timely amid COVID-19 pandemic where 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.

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.

The Selangor State government in collaboration with Shopee recently held the Selangor E-Bazar Raya Campaign where the State Government channelled almost RM1 million in the form of voucher benefits to Selangor merchants on this platform. The direct revenue from this RM1 million has successfully generated sales revenue of RM11.7 million, indicating a Return of Investment (ROI) of 12 times over the initial amount.

This initiative has generated about RM341.5 million in a ripple effect to the merchants which are an increase of 341% of the total of RM1 million voucher allocated by the Selangor State Government. The Selangor E-Bazar Raya campaign caught the interest of 8,400 e-commerce traders, of which 6,400 were conventional businesses while 2,000 were existing online businesses.

SITEC contributes to the economy by conducting more than 93 e-commerce classes for the public, organised eight international and regional e-commerce and Smart City events and reached over 200,000 people in e-commerce, start-up and smart city industries. SITEC economic contribution from 2015 to this year amounts to RM200 millions in Gross Merchants Value (GMV).

SITEC also facilitates e-commerce uptake through their specialised Online 100, Apps 100 and Education trusts. Up to 2019, through the Online 100 and Apps 100 thrusts, 575 brick and mortar merchants have been trained and onboarded to sell online via a significant marketplace, on top of receiving 575 e-store mobile apps on iOS and Android.

During the Movement Control Order period, SITEC held the highly-successful hybrid event namely Pitch@Selangor 2 which witnessed 1,067 guests registered to watch the live-stream with peak live viewers of 494 and reached to 8,700 viewers on SITEC Facebook page within 48 hours.

Pitch@Selangor 2nd Series: A.I. Arena is a business pitching event organised by Selangor Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (SITEC). It is a part of the Selangor state government’s effort to promote digital entrepreneurship and innovation, which would contribute towards the Smart Selangor initiative through the advancement of business and commercial ecosystem.

The event saw 12 leading start-ups from the A.I. industry showcasing their innovative proposal to various stakeholders including angel investors, mentors, potential business partners and even government. The pitching events provide a great networking opportunity and a chance to listen to sharp queries and insightful comments from the experienced V.C. and influential business leaders about the dos and don’ts of building a start-up.

Pitch@Selangor is an extension of the Selangor Accelerator Programme (SAP) that has successfully nurture 30 start-ups through 4 months of intensive entrepreneurship education since 2018. SITEC inaugural Pitch@Selangor event was met with a huge success. The top 3 winners for both SMEs and Social Enterprise categories were invited to a study visit to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, the United States of America. SITEC is organising Pitch 3 also known as Demo Day for Selangor Accelerator Programme happening on 5 September 2020.

During this hardship, SITEC wants to focus on helping the digitalisation of SMEs and traditional business in Selangor. The Selangor SME Digitalisation Workshop is intended to engage with local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), digital solution providers, corporate and other players via curated digital sessions.

Selangor SME Digitalisation Workshop offers practical takeaways needed to thrive in today’s changing business climate and economy. Through this workshop, participants can learn about leadership on SME digitalisation along with improving their digital skillset. The workshop also creates a platform for local digitalisation ecosystem players to engage and discuss on the new normal and emerging trend.

Ten speakers have been invited to share their knowledge in digitalisation for SMEs including Alia Alsagoff, Chief Business Development of Dropee; Reuben Chng, Head of Marketing of LEAD; Eric Chee, Manager of Marketing Strategy and Planning of LOCUS-T; Chua Khai Suan, CEO of Youbeli; Sharon Goh, Founder of Syuen Zens Resources & I.T. Comp Sales & Services Sdn Bhd; Lee Teng, Co-Founder of Aliments; Kenneth Kuan, Sales Director of kipleBiz; Bryan Soong, CEO of Biztory; Effon Khoo, Founder of Kakitangan; Desmond Law, CEO of SQL Account & SQL Payroll; and Dr Poo Kuan Hoong, Principle Machine Learning Engineer of ADA.

Topics that were discussed in the workshop include ‘How to Get Heard in Crowded Digital Space’, ‘Digital Marketing Journey’, ‘Make Your Product Go Online’, ‘E-Commerce Landscape in Malaysia’, ‘Cloud Accounting’, ‘Running Payroll Is Easy!’, ‘Procurement’ and ‘Data-Driven Organisation Transformation’.

Presented at the workshop was YB Dato’ Teng Chang Khim, Selangor State Executive Councillor and Chairman of Standing Committee for Investment, Industry & Commerce and SMEs; Mr Yong Kai Ping, Chief Executive of SITEC, Miss Surina Shukri, Chief Executive of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Mr Muhundhan Kamarapullai, Director of Business Digital Adoption of MDEC.

Selangor SME Digitalisation Workshop in collaboration with MDEC aims to empower businesses, cultivate digital transformation and assist SMEs in accelerating their digital journey.