MEDAC to boost SME businesses via e-commerce platform

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) intends to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to strengthen their businesses through the e-commerce platform.

Its Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said the platform was expected to have a positive impact on the economic growth of the SMEs and micro-enterprises.

"Among these is to expand the entrepreneurs' access to RM150 million in alternative funding sources and helping local SMEs and micro-enterprises affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and the Movement Control Order to get their business back on track.

"It will also assist local SME entrepreneurs and micro-entrepreneurs who are offered grants from SME Corporation such as BEEP (Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme) for use as a bridging fund to start projects," he said in a statement today.

According to statistics from Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the country's e-commerce sector had contributed RM127 billion of the Gross Domestic Product in 2019.

Wan Junaidi said the sector had shown an improving trend in terms of performance, compared with 2015 which recorded RM89 billion.

He said MEDAC had held a meeting with companies and online market operators to foster cooperation to help the entrepreneurs increase their business capabilities in the merchant sector as well as local small, micro and informal online hawkers.

"A total of 13 representatives from major e-commerce companies operating in Malaysia were present at the discussion session," he said.

-- BERNAMA