SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Accelerator Programme (SAP) 2021, a startup programme funded by the state government, is focusing on five major pillars this year to help put the state's economy back on track.

Selangor Executive Councillor for Industry and Trade Datuk Teng Chang Khim said the SAP, managed by the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC), would focus on agritech; fintech; greentech; e-commerce; and smart city solutions.

Traditional brick and mortar companies in Selangor have been hit hard by the lockdowns but businesses related to those five pillars are booming, Teng noted.

"E-commerce, fintech and smart city solutions are especially relevant with the current pandemic to ensure that businesses continue to run while following the standard operating procedures (SOP)," he said in his speech at the online opening ceremony of the SAP 2021 today."It is Selangor's focus to recover the economy through digitalisation, adoption of tech in business operations, as well as ensuring food security. This is why this year's SAP focuses on the five major pillars."

Teng said 30 startups have been selected out of 165 submissions in this year's SAP.

"Of the top 30 startups, only the top 10 will be chosen to walk away with additional perks while the top five will walk away with a cash prize worth RM50,000 as well as additional perks. They also get the chance to obtain investments from RHL Ventures, Agrobank and The Hive," he said.

Teng said the Selangor government will also continue to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by initiating the Selangor SME digitalisation matching grant to assist more SMEs to take their first steps to digitalise their businesses.

"The initiative is expected to benefit 1,000 Selangor SMEs with an initial grant worth RM5 million. SMEs can start to apply for the second batch from Aug 1 to Oct 31.

"For the first batch, we have managed to disburse RM1.2 million to 280 SMEs out of 492 applicants," he said.

-- BERNAMA