THE Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is contributing to Malaysia’s journey towards digital economy in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan and Malaysia Digital Blueprint by implementing various entrepreneurship programmes that supports micro entrepreneurs specifically but includes small and medium businesses as well.
These initiatives are implemented through Pusat Ekonomi Digital Keluarga Malaysia (PEDi) which are in operation nationwide specifically targeting 600 PEDi that hosts active entrepreneurs.
PEDi establishing a communications and multimedia industry that is competitive, efficient and increasingly self-regulating.
This is done through a consolidated effort led by MCMC under Program Pemerkasaan Pendigitalan Usahawan Kecil (PUPUK) that involves the strategic collaboration with various government agencies, private entities, banks as well as e-commerce platforms namely, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC), SME Corp, Bank Simpanan Nasional, Aeon and Shopee; to name a few.
This five-year programme (2021-2025) which aims to nurture and assist 800,000 entrepreneurs to adopt digitalisation in their businesses.
Through the programme, MCMC hopes to be able to create more digital entrepreneurs, increase production and productivity through digitalisation of businesses which in return will generate higher profits, sustainable and robust business environment and creating job opportunities for the Malaysian family.
MCMC assures that all these efforts are being monitored for its impact. For some programmes, the impact would be based on training offered and for others, the number of entrepreneurs on-boarded onto e-commerce platforms and sales generated online.
For instance, under the programme Pupuk@Shopee, 10,000 micro entrepreneurs are targeted to get on-board onto e-commerce platforms with an average 30% revenue uplift.
PEDi promoting access to communications and multimedia services.
Through the strategic collaboration between MCMC and its partners under Pupuk, the various entrepreneurship initiatives are streamlined to ensure more robust and suitable programmes are provided for micro-entrepreneurs.
Overarching this initiative is PEDi, a platform to reach out and assist local community.
The PEDi is a One-Stop Centre for providing collective Internet access to communities and areas that have insufficient broadband coverage or having an underserved group PEDi also provides local community the opportunity to participate in various Information and Communications Technology (ICT) based courses and training, to learn skills in e-commerce and activities that promote digital creation, dissemination, and mastery of digital knowledge.
Besides that, PEDi also helps boost community awareness and digital literacy towards improving socioeconomic status and empowering human capital among the underserved local communities.
The future of communication journey starts here.
Currently there are a total of 911 PEDi nationwide in operation that serves as a One-Stop Centre for digital economy activities. By the end of Quarter 1 2023, Malaysia will see 1084 PEDi’s in operation nationwide which will be accessible to 23.8 million Malaysian citizens.
Each PEDi is equipped with access to broadband services, digital infrastructure facilities and trained staff to provide the services and support required by the local community.
The PEDi also has access to various training and empowerment programmes offered by other government agencies and the private sector.
Since mid-2021, five transformational initiatives have been implemented at PEDi to strengthen its role. They are as follows:
Pusat Internet Komuniti has been transformed and renamed as PEDi;
The establishment of an Advisory Panel consisting of the local community in each PEDi to advise, plan various programs and attract the local community to benefit the local community;
Internet Café, one of the oldest initiative implemented by the MCMC.
Each PEDi will have a PEDi Entrepreneur Icon from among successful local entrepreneurs who will help and inspire local micro-entrepreneurs;
A total of 600 PEDi Digital Partners will be appointed in 600 selected PEDi to help provide financial support information, train and develop PEDi micro-entrepreneurs; and
Implementation of Pupuk via joint efforts with various government and private agencies to help the development of local micro-entrepreneurs in PEDi in reaching a larger market.
The trainings offered at PEDi includes:
- ICT training
- Entrepreneurship training
- Multimedia training
- e-Learning
- Marketing training, business development, packaging and other important modules for micro-entrepreneurs
- Community awareness and advocacy
The main objective of the PEDi Advisory Panel is to encourage and provide opportunities for various stakeholders in the local community to get involved in activities related to PEDi and to attract the local community to fully utilise the services and activities at the PEDi.
Among the tasks and functions that need to be carried out by the Advisory Panel/PEDi is to assist in ensuring that PEDi is welcomed and will be fully utilised by the local community.
In addition, they are also involved in the planning and carrying out promotional, social, and economic activities related to PEDi to any specific target groups and the community.
Apart from that, they also provide support and actively involved in activities and programmes carried out at PEDi.
They also will assist to obtain information related to the socio-economic problems of the local community and cooperate between the local community and the parties involved in efforts to deal with the problem.
The advisory panel will also be collaborating with relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs), volunteer groups, associations and organizations in planning and implementation of activities and programs at PEDi for the benefit of the community.
As the aspiration is to create more digital entrepreneurs at PEDi, a total of 600 Rakan Digital PEDi is being appointed and assigned to run programmes organised by various and private agencies. This is an additional to the existing workforce at PEDi which is currently managed by a Manager and Assistant Manager.
The Rakan Digital PEDi will handhold and assist the micro-entrepreneurs; guide them towards the digitalisation of their businesses. They also will provide guidance and assistance to entrepreneurs if they need any advice from other agencies.
To further motivate and to empower local entrepreneurs, PEDi Entrepreneur Icon, consisting successful micro and small entrepreneurs from the local community have been identified for them to share success stories and share their knowledge to assist the interested community in becoming digital entrepreneurs.
Moving forward, MCMC will identify more partners and initiatives to bring more contents to PEDi, providing more opportunities for the community to upskill to prepare for the digital age.
- SOURCE: Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) official
