With digital technology and the Internet becoming vital tools in doing business, owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro businesses from across Sarawak are urged to run their businesses through the e-commerce platform.
Assistant Minister for Entrepreneur & SME Development and Assistant Minister for E-Commerce YB Datuk Haji Mohd Naroden Haji Majais said this before launching the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) SME Onboarding Program that took place at Grand Margherita Hotel, Kuching on 12th October 2017.
He elaborated that by being part of e-commerce, entrepreneurs will be able to be on “the same level playing field” with other businesses around the world, given their use of technology and the Internet to do business.
“Because such trend is happening in countries including China and the European nations, the Malaysian Government, including the Sarawak State Government, has launched a new economic policy based upon the digital economy,” he said.
He also believed Sarawak can emulate the establishment of DFTZ in the Klang Valley – the first global digital trade platform outside China – with its own DFTZ area in order to succeed as an e-commerce hub, adding that the State has the potential to do so with its ports and airports that can become “collection centres” and its major industrial areas such as Samajaya High Tech Park, where the State’s first Digital Village is to be established there.
Conclusively, he hoped for more seminars such as the DFTZ SME Onboarding Program to be held in Sarawak to provide more exposure to SMEs on the concept, implementations and benefits of e-commerce to their businesses.
Meanwhile, the one-day seminar was organised by the Ministry of International Trade and E-Commerce and attended by over 90 participants to empower Sarawakian entrepreneurs to be part of e-commerce activities to expand their business worldwide, in line with the global economic development.