TeAM and Asiaspace in pact to help Malaysian SMEs go online

• To help SMEs and micro-businesses set up online presence
• Courses on digital marketing for amaxMall vendors

 
THE Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia (TeAM) is collaborating with Asiaspace Sdn Bhd to provide technical support for Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro-businesses to get online.
 
The two parties will help entrepreneurs develop their digital knowledge, while providing a platform on Asiaspace’s online marketplace, amaxMall.
 
amaxMall, launched about nine months ago, allows SMEs and micro-businesses to manage and operate their online business transactions, according to TeAM and Asiaspace.
 
The platform has crossed the 400-seller mark and is targeting to reach 1,200 sellers by the end of this year, amaxMall chief executive officer Dr Nik Sarina Hashim told a media briefing after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TeAM in Kuala Lumpur on May 11.
 
“Also, we’ve been working with government and non-governmental agencies such as Mara (Majlis Amanah Rakyat), the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Malaysia … and others to educate and encourage entrepreneurs to utilise the Internet for their business,” she added.
 
TeAM president Fadzli Shah Anuar said that through the collaboration, amaxMall vendors would also be able to access e-commerce courses provided by amaxMall and TeAM.
 
“It takes more than just ‘going online’ to succeed in the e-commerce sector, so our team will also be teaching these vendors basics like how to work a computer and how to do digital marketing – as well as technical skills like Adobe Photoshop and user-interface design,” he said.
 
Fadzli said that amaxMall had what he saw as a “very pragmatic approach” to helping grow the e-commerce sector in Malaysia via its collaboration with government and non-governmental agencies.
 
“The month-on-month growth in terms of number of vendors on amaxMall is really impressive – the same goes for its user growth,” he said, without giving specifics.
 
“So this [collaboration with amaxMall] is not just about relying on the public sector to push online businesses forward.
 
“We hope to provide a pathway for micro-businesses from all parts of Malaysia to be able to market their products beyond Malaysian shores,” he added.
 

 
Bumiputera emphasis?
 
According to Fadzli, the bumiputera sector in Malaysia is a large and untapped market.
 
“… providing value-added training to further all these Malaysian businesses – including bumiputera businesses – is something that we are fully committed to ,” he said.
 
‘Bumiputera’ is the term used for the largely, though not restricted to, Malay Muslims in Malaysia, who enjoy special privileges in education, housing, and civil service appointments. Many government contracts also stipulate a procurement preference for firms with a majority bumiputera ownership.
 
TeAM deputy president Danni Rais said that the association is in talks with several organisations to help micro-businesses in rural areas go online.
 
“It doesn’t matter what these micro-businesses want to sell, it’s about providing them an opportunity to thrive in this era of the digital economy,” he said.
 
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