Govt's Social Impact Procurement programme open for registration

• Assessment and validation of PPISK to be conducted by MaGIC
• Initiative leverages government’s procurement capacity to help social enterprises

THE Perolehan Impak Sosial Kerajaan (PPISK), an impact-driven government procurement programme for social enterprises that was announced in Budget 2021 is now open for registration.

Entrusted to assess and validate eligible applicants for PPISK is the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), it said in a statement.

MaGIC said social procurement is an important element of social impact investment. PPISK will digitally onboard social impact enterprises as vendors registered with the Ministry of Finance (MOF), to qualify them for government procurement opportunities of up to US$4.84 million (RM20 million), it added.

PPISK is described as a first-of-its-kind social procurement initiative that leverages on the government’s procurement capacity to create positive societal and environmental impact. Through this, social impact businesses – many of which are micro and small enterprises – can build their credentials for future growth and investment opportunities, MaGIC said.

Five Malaysian ministries are selected for the 12-month pilot implementation. They are the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), Ministry of Rural Development (KPLB) and Ministry of Education (MOE).

In theory, PPISK will provide a level playing field for social impact businesses, providing them the opportunity to scale up impact-driven solutions which will, in turn, spur the social innovation ecosystem, MaGIC said.

To further promote products, solutions and services by social impact organisations, MaGIC will be listing all approved PPISK applicants on its Buy For Impact webpage. This allows the public to also support social enterprises by spending their money in a more impactful manner.

Solutions offered by social impact businesses include alternative and affordable material for low-cost rural housing, literacy programmes for underprivileged youth and handicraft by indigenous communities.

PPISK is described as “a win-win solution” which supports the government’s commitment towards uplifting the livelihood of underserved communities through a social enterprise ecosystem, which could lead to sustainable growth, MaGIC said.

According to a poll by SEWF Digital in September 2020, 26% of social enterprises believed that supportive government policies would have the greatest impact to their sustainability, while another 18% said that commercial and public sector procurement would provide the greatest opportunity for social enterprises this year.

PPISK is now open for registration here.