UOB Malaysia and The FinLab launch online platform to help more local SMEs

uob Malaysia and The FinLab have launched The FinLab Online, a regional digital platform to help local small- and medium-sized enterprises (smes) and start-ups implement digital solutions to transform their businesses.

The digital platform will incorporate the Jom2 Transform Programme, the first business transformation programme in Malaysia to help local SMEs digitalise their operations for productivity and revenue growth.
Participating SMEs in the Jom Transform Programme this year will go through a one-month curriculum on The FinLab Online. They will be able to tap the expertise of industry mentors from UOB and its regional
ecosystem partners through online workshops, video tutorials and webinars. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) will continue as a strategic partner for the programme to provide advisory in
digitalisation.

Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia, said incorporating the Jom Transform Programme on The FinLab Online digital platform is one of the ways the Bank is making it easier for Malaysian SMEs to drive their digitalisation plans.

UOB Malaysia and The FinLab partner MDEC to help accelerate SME digitalisation The Jom Transform Programme aims to help at least 100 Malaysian SMEs embrace digitalisation to achieve one of the following outcomes: increase in revenue, reduction in business cost, improvement of process time cycle, reduction in man hours or creation of new sources of growth. SMEs who completed the programme last year had expected to raise their productivity by up to 30 per cent through digitalisation. This year, the programme includes support from MDEC through its Smart Automation Grant3, which will be offered to participating businesses that successfully pitch their digitalisation plans and demonstrate tangible outcomes.

3 The Smart Automation Grant is a matching grant allocated by the Malaysian government for local businesses in the services industry to automate their business processes. MDEC, in its ongoing effort to lead and to accelerate the development and growth of Malaysia's digital economy, aims to empower businesses to take the digital leap forward. This is to help ensure that they stay relevant and competitive during these highly disruptive times and in the Fourth Industrial Revolution era.

Ms Surina Shukri, Chief Executive Officer, MDEC, said the funding incentives set aside for SMEs under the PENJANA4 initiative underscores the Malaysian government's emphasis in encouraging more local businesses to adopt digitalisation, which has become more critical as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The one-month Jom Transform Programme with The FinLab will commence in August 2020. Local businesses interested in participating in the Jom Transform Programme can register their interest now here