A new RM25 million fund known as the E-commerce Micro Credit Scheme has been set up to help young Chinese entrepreneurs. The fund is accessible to any Malaysian Chinese between the ages of 18 and 45 years who wants to participate in the digital transformation journey. In launching the fund, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak urged Chinese youths and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to utilise the facility to undertake digital transformation. He said that the scheme would be able to expedite results in at least three key areas, including nurturing “techno-preneurship” among young people and improving their income and quality of life. It will also help to transform traditional SMEs so that they remain competitive and relevant, helping Malaysia’s rural products go global, he added. He also said the fund size would be increased in the future. He said 41 Chinese-based associations and chambers of commerce nationwide have volunteered and committed to join the programme as strategic partners, adding that digital transformation was important for all businesses. “It has been reported that one-third of leading firms will be disrupted by new competitors within five years, and it will be a case of transform or perish. There really is no alternative. We must transform or be left behind.”.
