TM ONE, the business and public sector solutions arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank), an agency under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative to offer technology funding for its Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) customers to accelerate their business and digital transformation.
The MoU was signed by Ahmad Taufek Omar, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, TM ONE while SME Bank was represented by Aria Putera Ismail, its Group President/Chief Executive Officer.
The SME Technology Transformation Fund (STTF), is a fund set up between SME Bank and the Ministry of Finance to offer financing assistance of up to RM3.0 million to local SMEs. This is part of the Government’s Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (PENJANA) economic stimulus package to provide financial assistance to SMEs in adopting digitalisation and/or automation in their business operations.
Commenting on the collaboration, Ahmad Taufek said, “We are excited to work hand-in-hand with SME Bank to accelerate digital adoption amongst our customers particularly in the SME segment. This is in support of the Government’s efforts under PENJANA to execute key initiatives to help SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim is to assist SMEs in addressing real business challenges and issues that they are currently facing with the digital solutions available. We have put in place dedicated teams and solutions to enable our customers to realise the full potential of their digital opportunities. Our Professional Services are a consultative approach in helping SMEs to understand how to plan their digital transformation based on their unique business requirements.”
Meanwhile, Aria said, “With a fund size of RM500 million, STTF is expected to directly assist SME entrepreneurs to achieve higher productivity, process efficiency, efficient cost management and greater market penetration. As at 11 November 2020, SME Bank has approved 18 applications worth RM36.55 million under the STTF fund. SME Bank’s role in encouraging the SMEs to adopt digital technology was further enhanced with the introduction of ODELA, the first one-stop e-commerce platform backed by a Development Financial Institution (DFI), that enabled B2B entrepreneurs to make transactions and foster partnership across vast ecosystems. The Bank’s wholesome approach in providing financing and entrepreneur development assistance further adds value and accelerate the development of digital economy thus boosting the nation’s economic growth in this challenging time.”
STTF is to be used for financing the purchases of IT solutions and services, technology support services, computer hardware and software, equipment and/or machinery and other intangible assets to enhance productivity and efficiency. SMEs as defined by the National Entrepreneur and SME Development Council (NESDC) are eligible to apply for STTF.
TM ONE’s solutions are aimed at helping SMEs to achieve higher productivity, better cost management and improved efficiency for wider market penetration through the adoption of digitalisation and automation. As the digital enabler for enterprise and public sector customers with enterprise-grade connectivity and end-to-end cloud offerings, the Company is well positioned to enable the ecosystem for digital society, digital business and digital government. Leveraging on its complete digital solutions offerings across connectivity (Internet & Data), voice and collaboration tools, business outsourcing services, cloud services, cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart services, TM ONE will fulfil the needs of businesses and the public sector in embracing digital convergence towards enabling Digital Malaysia.
This is in line with TM Group’s unique role as the nation’s connectivity and digital infrastructure provider. It is also in support of Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) Plan to drive Malaysia’s Digital Economy through business digitalisation and new ways of working.