MADANI DIGITAL TRADE: A GAME CHANGER FOR SMES TO BENEFIT FROM TECHNOLOGIES -- TENGKU ZAFRUL 

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- The MADANI Digital Trade (MDT) could be a game changer, enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from technologies such as big data and analytics, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the MDT platform will help fulfil the two New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 missions by addressing the SMEs’ pain points.

He said the key missions under the NIMP 2030 are the rapid “tech-ing” up of industries (mission 2), as well as ensuring economic security and inclusivity (mission 4).

“This initiative also supports Malaysia’s commitment to the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), positioning the country as a regional leader in digital trade. 

“The MDT will enable our SMEs to expand market reach, enhance trade efficiency and accelerate digital adoption, ensuring Malaysia remains competitive in the global digital economy,” he said in his keynote address at the official launch of MDT here today.

The MDT initiative is developed by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation in collaboration with Nazsoft Tech Sdn Bhd, a software developer and digital transformation consultant.

Tengku Zafrul added that the MDT platform facilitates export promotion and enhances the visibility of Malaysian brands in regional and international markets, based on its ability to integrate cross-border ecosystem stakeholders.

“Malaysian companies could intensify their export ventures in the international markets using state-of-the-art digital platforms for virtual exhibition booths, business meetings, and business matching, facilitated for both buyers and sellers,” he said. 

Additionally, he said businesses would have access to comprehensive training programmes and advisory services, webinars and grant application systems to equip themselves with the necessary tools to navigate the platform effectively.

Tengku Zafrul also emphasised Malaysia’s role as chair of ASEAN this year where the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) is leading the economic pillar of ASEAN. 

He said MITI is determined to ensure Malaysia achieves as much progress as possible in terms of the priority economic deliverables (PEDs) for 2025.

He said the PEDs include advancing or concluding negotiations on the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), as well as free trade agreements (FTAs) with China (ACFTA) and India (AITIGA).

“But the PED that might be most relevant to our agenda today is the ASEAN DEFA negotiation, a significant initiative aimed at accelerating digital transformation and integration within ASEAN,” he said, adding that DEFA is expected to conclude the negotiations by year-end and develop a comprehensive implementation plan post-2025. 

Tengku Zafrul said the DEFA negotiation covers various key elements such as digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, cybersecurity, digital ID, digital payments, cross-border data flows, and emerging topics.

“From MITI’s perspective, SMEs that fully embrace digital can easily tap into the consumer demand across ASEAN, where the potential is huge, thanks to ASEAN’s sizable 680-million strong population, and because intra-ASEAN trade currently stands at only 23 per cent to 24 per cent.

“Digitally enabled Malaysian and ASEAN SMEs can easily serve markets as far as Latin America or even Africa. If more Malaysian SMEs could participate in the global value chain through the MDT, they would create more jobs, which, in turn, would directly support Malaysia’s development,” he noted. 

For Malaysian companies and SMEs, Tengku Zafrul said the MDT initiative offers a clear advantage, namely, a one-stop digital solutioning platform to help expand their market reach, streamline export processes, access financial support, and leverage real-time business intelligence. 

-- BERNAMA