KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 –The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has urged businesses, particularly the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to implement digitalisation values and adopt innovation in their business to remain resilient.
MIDA deputy chief executive officer II Ahmad Khairuddin Abdul Rahim said that in order to drive business growth and staying relevant in current norms, business leaders, especially the SMEs must be able to think creatively and embrace innovation into their business models.
“A willingness to innovate should also go along with a solid understanding on how to cultivate the innovation into life. The focus will be on assisting Malaysian businesses to shift from old conventional growth models to build new growth through the adoption of the digital system,” he said in his opening speech during the virtual Domestic Investment Webinar today.
The session themed “Innovation and Transition to New Business Models” was supported by the Department of Polytechnic and Community College Education (DPCCE) of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia Productivity Cooperation (MPC), SIRIM Bhd and AmBank.
He said Malaysia’s Industry4WRD policy is an excellent guide and the incentives of Industry4WRD Readiness Assessment and its subsequent Intervention Fund enable domestic companies to assess their capabilities and readiness to adopt Industry 4.0 processes, understand their present capabilities and gaps, as well as prepare feasible plans to move toward effective adoption of Industry 4.0.
“This represents the first step for companies in Malaysia to align with the rapidly changing technological landscape while developing new growth areas by prioritising operational efficiency and resilience through digital and automation technologies,” he said.
Ahmad Khairuddin added that other critical enablers are the skilled talent and upskilling programmes to drive and sustain Malaysia’s economic growth, of which, the availability of a skilled workforce will support the transition of all economic sectors towards knowledge-intensive activities.
“The government had also introduced the Automation Capital Allowance, a major initiative to motivate domestic companies to undertake automation and machine upgrading. The Smart Automation Grant under the RM100 million allocation is an initiative awarded to eligible SMEs and Mid-Tier Companies on a matching basis or 50 per cent of total eligible expenditures, up to a maximum grant cap of RM1 million per company,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the webinar has successfully attracted more than 300 participants, including manufacturers, service providers and other potential investors.
