In efforts to boost the digital economy, the government laid out a plethora of initiatives including grants for SME and start-ups under the PENJANA and Budget 2020. Among them were the Digital Content Grant which is managed by MDEC.
The agency responsible in gearing Malaysia into the next phase of digitalisation has announced that it has so far handed 47 SME and Startups a total sum of RM2.35 million in grants. The recipients are largely from the digital creative content industry (70%), followed by professional services (21%), education (7%) and other industries (2%).
With a mission statement by the government, MDEC has been actively offering grants to encourage and support innovation, creation of new intellectual property, accelerate automation and digitalisation of business to positively contribute towards growing Malaysia’s digital economy.
“MDEC is here to support the digital ecosystem and accelerate digital adoption. These grants go towards building capacity and capability, providing businesses the opportunity to become regional champions,” said Surina Shukri, CEO of MDEC.
As the pandemic ravages on, many companies are transforming their business model with the adoption of digital solutions, this mass migration is seeing new innovation and opportunities for entrepreneurs. After the first batch of recipients, MDEC is still evaluating and will be announcing for successful grant recipients in due course.
“The agency has set the scene for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era by continuing to empower digitally-skilled talents, enable digitally-powered businesses and attract digital-sector investments. By 2025, the reinvented MDEC will firmly establish Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN,” added Surina.
Grants are still available, businesses are encouraged to reach out to and engage with various support initiatives that MDEC currently manages. This includes the different grants that are currently made available for different industry verticals.
