The e-commerce platform Lazada Malaysia continues to direct its efforts to support micro and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through the government’s Micro and SMEs E-commerce Campaign, with a ringgit-for-ringgit co-funding program under the digital-led National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA).
The initiative aims to benefit an estimated 30,000 local MSMEs to help them mitigate the impact of the pandemic by going digital, to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era.
“In addition to our previous RM10 million Pakej Kedai Pintar stimulus plan which has aided 50,000 SMEs from April to June, Lazada will continue to boost local MSMEs by partnering with the government to quicken their recovery in the nation’s post-MCO era.
“With one-third of the population shopping online through our platform every month, we are confident that our continued investment into Malaysia’s small business community will augment Malaysia’s digital ecosystem and further bolster the recovery of the nation’s economy,” Lazada Malaysia chief executive officer Leo Chow said in a statement.
The MSME E-commerce Campaign, which runs from 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020, features a series of customized incentives that include zero interest-free financing support for successful MSME loan applicants.
Eligible existing and new merchants will benefit from a full subsidy of their online startup cost, which includes the creation of store and product listings, free shipping and delivery services, training and workshops as well as free access to Lazada’s digital and advertising solutions, allowing them to quickly sell online and diversify their revenue streams.
The initiative also aims to support the differently-abled communities through these trying times in an effort to help them develop a sustainable income stream online.
“If the pandemic has been hard on most businesses, we can only imagine the difficulty that the individuals with disabilities are facing during this time.
“We are working hard to reach out and onboard their businesses onto our platform so that they too can benefit from this funding. We look forward to assisting and supporting them with the digitalization of their business.” Leo said.
In addition to the campaign, Lazada will continue to work alongside the government to spur the national economy through Buy Malaysia and Shop Malaysia Online initiatives in the upcoming months.
Lazada’s ringgit-for-ringgit pledge to support the government’s MSME E-Commerce campaign is a follow up of its RM10 million Pakej Kedai Pintar stimulus package, which was aimed at enabling Malaysian SMEs to go digital at zero capital cost and sustain their businesses throughout the MCO period.
More than 17,000 new small businesses were onboarded onto the platform and became beneficiaries of the program that ran from April to June 2020, by gaining access to an alternative revenue stream, Lazada University training, and micro loans.
SMEs on the platform saw an overall growth of over 110 percent in sales due to the initiative.
