Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – With Malaysia aiming to attain a ‘high technology nation’ status by 2030, small business culture in the country, with one in four of Malaysian SMBs planning to introduce a new product or service this year locally or globally, according to a survey from CPA Australia.
According to CPA Australia’s Malaysian Digital Transformation Committee Chairman Bryan Chung, the findings on Malaysia’s innovative culture are encouraging when compared to small businesses from Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.
“The findings are indicative of a new generation of entrepreneurs who are tech-savvy, innovative and eager to promote what their business has to offer, both to the region and the world. Malaysian respondents are typically younger with 55.9% under 40, compared with the survey average of 45.2%,” he said.
Chung also added that business owners’ mindsets have shifted, which augurs well. Business owners are now motivated to pursue technological innovations for long-term growth as opposed to short-term survival.
“The focus on technology is reflected in cybersecurity preparedness, with 40.1% of local small businesses reviewing their cybersecurity measures in the past six months, while 38.5% expected their business will be cyberattacked in 2022,” he added.
Reflecting the tech-savvy nature of many Malaysian small businesses, eight in ten earned revenue from online sales and 62.5% received more than 10% of their sales through digital payment options such as Grabpay, Alipay and iPay88. Given the impact of COVID-19, it is not surprising that of those that sought external finance in 2021, close to 55% sought it for business survival and nearly half found that accessing finance was challenging.
Chung further explained that the reasonable rate of technology investment is heartening against a highly challenging business environment where survival and sustainability is paramount. Of the businesses surveyed, close to 40% invested in technology and said their investment improved their profitability. While for some it may have been a knee-jerk response, the positive business outcomes will to a large extent, validate continuous investments.
“This demonstrates that Malaysia’s small businesses are generally pretty good at adopting technology into their business, however there is room to improve. We suggest that more small businesses seek information and advice to ensure they adopt the right technology solutions for their business,” he concluded.
