KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has disbursed RM5.52 million to 45 recipients across multiple industries under four grant programmes.

These programmes are the Global Technology Grant (GTG), Digital Content Creators Challenge, Digital Content Grant and the #SMART Automation Grant (SAG), Malaysia's lead digital economy agency said in a statement today.

MDEC said the disbursement indicates that its new grant framework is now completed and fully operational to allow the agency to provide adequate funding to the right recipients with an emphasis on governance, transparency and speed.

"These disbursements to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and mid-tier companies will accelerate digital adoption and digital creative content, further driving the positive trajectory of the country's digital economy," it said.

The agency said GTG is an initiative aimed at nurturing global champions and a digital innovation ecosystem by supporting research and development, empowering innovation, and establishing centres of excellence.

Meanwhile, the SAG programme is a matching grant to help SMEs in the services industry, mainly retail, wholesale, food and beverages, tourism and logistics, to enhance and improve their businesses via digital tools.

The Digital Content Creators Challenge (formerly Intellectual Property Creators' Challenge and Digital Content Ecosystem) is a platform for local digital content companies involved in animation, video games and digital comics to hone their creativity and accelerate the development and commercialisation of digital content.

Lastly, the Digital Content Grant is an initiative under the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) designed and created to support local digital content companies in the development and marketing of their content.

Submission for GTG 2021 is open from Aug 26 until Sept 15, 2021, while that for SAG 2021 began on Aug 26, 2021, with a four-week call for submissions.

MDEC chairman Datuk Dr Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff said the new grant framework builds on the agency's Input-Output-Outcome-Impact (IOOI) model.

"These grants are executed with ease of access and transparency in mind. All information about our grants are made public through the mainstream media and our social media, ensuring that we cover everyone from Perlis to Sabah. What matters is the know-how, not the know-who," he said.

-- BERNAMA