The global pandemic of COVID-19 is not only a public health crisis; it has also severely affected the world’s economy and financial markets. In order to mitigate the spread of the disease, strict implementations have been deployed in many countries. An excruciating income reduction, increase of unemployment, and disruptions in the service and manufacturing industries are some of the negative impacts caused by these measures taken. It has been predicted that this disease is here to co-exist with us for a long time until a working vaccine is found.
Going digital has been the key action for many businesses since the pandemic outbreak. Online revenue has seen a significant increase especially this year. Just recently, Alibaba set a new sales record of a whopping $56.42 billion for the annual Singles Day shopping event. The pivotal step in driving and sustaining a business is to take it online.
The concern for many is that they think they have already fallen behind in digitalizing their business. In reality, the pace of a digital business is 5 times faster than a traditional business. Hence, it is never too late to start. Boost has always been an advocate in digitalizing traditional businesses ever since it was founded. With Boost’s effort in spearheading this campaign, businesses can now apply for the SME Digitalization Grant which is in line with the government’s PENJANA initiatives. The grant is offered to encourage local businesses in expanding or transforming their operations from offline to online which they will be receiving support up to RM 5,000.
Boost aims to help SMEs in digitalizing their business with affordable starter packs that offer them simplified solutions without the hefty start up cost. This will definitely enable them to kickstart their digital journey with ease. The packages offered were curated thoroughly depending on the needs of the targeted merchant base to give them a head start when moving their business online. For as low as RM 1,000, you can get the Boost’s MicroSME which gives you over RM15,000 worth of digital marketing support.
How exactly does the SME Digitalization Grant work?
Depending on the package selected by the merchant, the government will provide a 50% matching grant up to RM 5,000 per company for the subscription of digital services through selected Technology Service Providers which Celcom is part of. In addition, Celcom will also integrate Boost e-wallet services to provide merchants with a simplified e-commerce solution to adopt digitalization in their daily operations. In order to ensure a smooth application process, the government through the Ministry of Finance will work together with Bank Simpanan Nasional, SME Bank and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation in managing the grants to eligible Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Additionally, when signing up with Boost, the merchant can solely focus on their core business without having any frets about digitalization as Boost will help ease the process and make it a seamless journey for the merchant in going digital.
Who is eligible for the grant?
The company applying for the grant must be at least 60% Malaysian owned and has been operating for at least a year. Besides that, companies operating longer than 2 years are required to have a minimum annual sales turnover of RM 50,000 (preceding 2 consecutive years) whereas companies operating at least a year are required to have a minimum annual sales turnover of RM 100,000. Moreover, these companies have to be registered under the relevant laws of Malaysia.
What are the digital packages offered?
There are 4 tiers of digital packages: MicroSME, Basic, Premium and Gold. If you were to select the MicroSME package, it is priced at RM 2,000 but you only pay RM 1,000 as the government will provide a 50% matching grant which in this case is RM 1,000. Despite the low entry price on these packages, the benefits gained are worth more than the packages themselves. Such benefits include cashbacks, boost business solutions, in-app and digital marketing solutions. The mentioned benefits will greatly help businesses in accelerating their digital presence and the packages offered will be fully self-service for businesses, allowing them to focus on selling their products online.
Boost’s SME Digitalization Grant is currently ongoing till 31st December 2020. If you are a SME owner, sign up now for the SME Digitalization Grant most suited to your business with 0% upfront Aspirasi Assist Microfinancing.