MDEC aims to garner additional RM544m in revenue

The Malaysian Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC) is aiming to amass an additional revenue of RM544 million in 2018, from its “eUsahawan” and “eRezeki” programmes. According to The Star, which quoted COO Ng Wan Peng, MDEC would train about 150,000 new participants for both programmes in a bid to reach the targeted revenue.It also aims to achieve the target of RM544 million with "#YouCanDuit", a digital campaign that helps lower income households supplement their income via the eUsahawan and eRezeki initiatives. #YouCanDuit has trained 100,008 participants who have earned a cumulative RM136.6 million since 2015, Ng said. The news comes a month after Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that RM100 million of Malaysia's Budget 2018 plans will be assigned to expand the eRezeki, eUsahawan and eLadang programmes.According to Yasmin Mahmood, CEO, MDEC, the digital economy continues to be a main driver of growth for Malaysia, contributing approximately 18.2% of the country’s GDP in 2017. It is expected to surpass the estimated target of 20% earlier than 2020. The RM100 million will ensure the digital economy continues to be inclusive for the well-being of the rakyat (citizens) and that about 150,000 rakyat are estimated to be trained in 2018.eRezeki is a programme for Malaysians to earn supplementary income online, while eUsahawan is a digital entrepreneurship programme catered to the masses with basic business fundamentals to enhance growth via online sales. eLadang is a new initiative to encourage farmers to leverage the latest smart farming technologies such as Internet of Things and big data analytics.MDEC recently partnered with Axiata Digital, the digital services arm of Axiata Group under the Malaysia Digital Hub initiative, to expand startup co-working space outside of the Klang Valley early next year. In April 2017, MDEC introduced the Malaysia Digital Hub to grow the nation’s digital economy. The aim of this initiative is to support start-ups, and its communities, with tech and digital co-working spaces.Read also: Malaysia Budget 2018: Why SMEs cannot afford to be left behind