KKMM approves two digital hubs to help start ups - Salleh

Its minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said to encourage the development of technology among companies, two such digital hubs were approved by the ministry, namely ''APW'' located in Jalan Riong, Bangsar and ''The Co'' based in Jalan Lengkok Abdullah, Bangsar.

"This initiative offers the ecosystem and work space for start ups, and will be supported by leading global technology companies, accelerators and talent agencies to operate, and managed by the industry.

"In addition to offering the convenience of high-speed broadband and state-of-the-art facilities, these hubs also offer access to ''mentorship'' and ''coaching'' programmes, as well as market capitalisation for start ups," he said in reply to Senator Dr Zaiedi Suhaili, who wanted to know the measures taken to realise the digital economy of the country, and the amount of investment made for the purpose.

According to the Statistics Department, the digital economy accounted for 17.8 per cent of GDP in 2015, and this percentage is projected to increase to 18.2 per cent by 2020.

Salleh said the ministry, through MDEC, had implemented a range of initiatives to boost the growth of the digital economy, among them by attracting foreign and local investment in the sector.

"From 1996 to December 2016, the total value of foreign and domestic investment recorded was RM304 billion. Some 44 per cent of these investments were foreign investment.

"Among the global companies roped in during 2016 include Luxoft, a leading ICT solutions company in the automotive sector, the Medicines Company has opened a medical hub in the country which uses the Internet of Things (IoT). Namco Bandai is a global gaming company which has opened a visual arts production hub in Malaysia, " he said.

According to him, as a result of the investments, 167,044 jobs were created as of 2016.

"Based on the development of the digital economy sector, it is predicted that by 2025, a workforce of one million - comprising ''coders'', application developers, software engineers and other digital workers will be required," he said.

In addition, he said the ministry was also trying to popularise the digital economy to target groups such as youths and small entrepreneurs, including those in the B40 and M40 groups.

Under this agenda, two programmes have been implemented by the MDEC, namely eUsahawan and eRezeki, aimed to help people generate additional revenue through the digital economy, he said.

"For the eUsahawan programme, of the 51,203 young and rural entrepreneurs who joined courses in 2016, more than 30 per cent were successful in generating additional sales overall, reported to be RM48 million. The target for 2017 is for 75,000 entrepreneurs to be trained through TVET and universities, resulting in RM50 million in sales.

"For the eRezeki programme, in 2016, a total of 50,618 people were trained through the centres and eRezeki representatives across the country. The total revenue reported by these individuals is RM17 million. The target for 2017 is 50,000 individuals from the B40 group to be trained, with RM70 million in revenue , " he explained.

In addition, he said the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) initiative, the first of its kind in the world after China, was implemented to help Small and Medium Enterprises to penetrate the world market and attract global brands and ''market places'', besides positioning Malaysia as a gateway to ASEAN and regional markets.

The initiative is expected to create more than 60,000 jobs by 2025.