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Kuala Lumpur: The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (MEDAC) aims to help more women entrepreneurs to master e-commerce skills through the Women Netpreneur programme organised by its agency, SME Corp Malaysia.

Deputy Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the programme was timely to assist women entrepreneurs in their business digitalisation journey.

“In these challenging times, we have to get women entrepreneurs prepared for digital transformation.

“All parties, including stakeholders, need to get involved and play their respective roles so that the ecosystem would be more conducive and we would be able to help the women entrepreneurs,” she told a virtual press conference on the Women Netpreneur 2021 programme Thursday.

She hopes that women entrepreneurs can seize and leverage digitalisation and technology as catalysts to boost productivity, efficiency and skills while strengthening their business cash flow.

Citing statistics from the Statistics Department, she said women owned 20.6 per cent of business entities in Malaysia, adding that women have contributed significantly to the country’s economy.

“Women-owned businesses contributed RM69.1 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product and created 786,132 jobs, with salaries totalling RM11.1 billion,” said Mas Ermieyati.

She noted that the number of businesses that have shifted to e-commerce platforms has increased to 490,000 in the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2021) from 244,000 in Q1 2020.

The number of businesses registered for payment via QR codes has also increased exponentially to 773,000 in Q1 2021 from 293,000 in Q1 2020.

She said entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity to expand their business by utilising digital technology which helps them to maximise their sales through online marketing.

Meanwhile, SME Corp chairman Datuk Seri Syed Hussien Al Habshee said due to encouraging response, the programme will be continued from August till November this year. The Women Netpreneur programme – which started in 2017 – is a collaboration between SME Corp Malaysia and Gorgeous Geeks, As of July 2021, 2,280 women entrepreneurs have taken part in the programme, and 80 per cent of them have successfully participated in e-commerce platforms such as Facebook, Shopee and Lazada.