KUALA LUMPUR: Public-private collaborations are the way forward to achieve the nation’s aspirations and goals for inclusive prosperity, said Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative, Datuk Ewon Benedick.
He was speaking at a special dinner event to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of Wilstech and the launch of eMOBIQ on Wednesday.
“Wilstech’s eMOBIQ is an excellent example of a platform of a cross ministry and industry collaboration to bridge education to industry, and business with technology. Building digital competencies and talent and offering opportunities to retain them are critical to our economy and ecosystem development and growth.
“eMOBIQ will enable enterprises to fast-track their digitalisation process to catalyse business growth in a faster, smarter, affordable and secure manner by through its cutting-edge features and cross-platform function,” said Ewon.
He also praised Wilstech for its role in supporting the country’s digital aspirations and competitiveness, especially in serving the SME community through accessible and highly customised solutions.
He said that Micro small-to-medium sized enterprises (MSME) and SMEs form the backbone of the country’s economic and industrial development, accounting for 78.6% and 21.4% of the business establishments respectively.
“Given the context and role, creating robust, sustainable and competitive MSMEs and SMEs is key to accelerating our economic expansion and ensuring all Malaysians have access to opportunity to earn or generate income.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that without access to technology, we will not be as efficient or effective. As such, digitalisation is the main thrust in our nation’s agenda.
“With the digital economy is poised to be the next driver of development, the government is focusing on ensuring sustainable, long-term access and adequate support for Malaysian businesses or entrepreneurs looking to build their businesses in this digitalised world,” he said.
Ewon added that digitalisation is the main thrust in the nation’s agenda, as the digital economy is poised to be the next driver of development.
He cited various policies and initiatives by the government, such as the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12-MP), Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) and National Entrepreneurship Policy 2030 (NEP 2030), that aim to futureproof the economy by becoming a digital nation.
Ewon stressed that specifically with the NEP 2030, innovation and capacity-building are two key pillars that will help the business and entrepreneur communities achieve this vision.
“One thing is clear: Malaysia needs a holistic and dynamic ecosystem for our digital economy that covers infrastructure, regulation, public finance and skills. To this end, it is critical that the nation builds and expands the different community verticals. And we cannot do it alone,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ewon also announced the the establishment of the AppRaise campaign in conjunction with today’s eMOBIQ launch. The AppRaise campaign is complementary to the launch of eMOBIQ to further accelerate digitalisation within Malaysia’s business ecosystem.
eMOBIQ is a no-code mobile application platform that enables anyone to create and publish their own mobile apps without coding. It also features the eMOBIQ Challenge, a nationwide competition to encourage and empower young Malaysians to showcase their creativity and innovation through app development.
