The timing of budget allocation towards Malaysia's e-commerce ecosystem is both right and ripe as the country embarks on a journey to become a knowledge-based economy by 2020.

Zilzar Tech Sdn Bhd CEO Rushdi Siddiqui said the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), that form the backbone of the nation's economy, should embrace the digital platform to expand their businesses as it could help them increase their exports, as well as, attract talent and foreign direct investments.

"The halal industry comprising thousands of SMEs, for example, has been an offline play and now is the time for us to bring them online so their products can reach new geographical markets.

"With the tax reduction from 19 percent to 18 percent for the first RM500,000, this would have a direct impact in helping the SMEs to further flourish in the halal industry," he told Bernama.

Zilzar is a global business to business (B2B) e-commerce platform.

Rushdi said the export-ready SMEs needed to have access to markets in China, Japan, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Europe and the US, because of the good reputation of Malaysian high quality halal products and ingredients.

He said the export promotion funds administered by the government's agencies including Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and SME Corporation Malaysia amounting to RM162 million would most definitely facilitate and promote the export of halal products to these countries.

"Zilzar has spent much resources to bring them online, but more needs to be done. We welcome not only more online SMEs on Zilzar, but also wants them to embark on the international digital market and social media marketing strategies to bring buyers of Malaysian products on Zilzar.

"We are also excited about the promotions that will be done to make 2017 as the Startup and SME Promotion Year a reality, and is confident the halal industry will feature prominently," he said.

Rushdi urged the SMEs especially women-owned companies and young entrepreneurs to capitalise on Zilzar, which was established in 2014, as a platform to bridge their companies with countries they wish to penetrate.

"There is no fee for what we are doing for our clients, so we really want more SMEs to take advantage of this," he said, adding Zilzar also provided translation into 90 languages to assist clients expand their businesses abroad.

Similar to China-based Alibaba Group, an e-commerce company providing consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and B2B sales services via web portals, Zilzar provides a platform for businesses and consumers to sell to each other.

It differs from Alibaba in that its emphasis is on halal products and services, currently worth about US$1.6 trillion globally and is forecast to hit US$2.5 trillion by 2018.

Zilzar already lists some 2,800 different halal suppliers on its site, more than Alibaba, and they are certified as being compliant with Islamic practices. -- Bernama