Tag: SME

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – PayMate, a business-to-business (B2B) payment solutions provider, has forged a strategic partnership with De’Xandra, a Malaysian perfume brand. The partnership aims to transform B2B payment processes and boost the growth of Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

De’Xandra will use PayMate’s platform to streamline its payment management. It will allow the perfume brand to collect payments from its over 6000 distributors while ensuring timely and reliable payments to its suppliers. 

The partnership also contributes to PayMate as it strengthens its presence in Malaysia’s SME sector. 

PayMate’s platform allows SMEs in Malaysia to use commercial cards with an interest-free period of up to 55 days. This offer makes their B2B payments efficient and secure, eliminating operational difficulties.

“At PayMate, we believe that the backbone of Malaysia’s economy lies in its SMEs, and our mission is to empower these businesses with the tools they need to thrive. We are here to support every small business in Malaysia providing them with innovative payment solutions so that they may overcome working capital challenges, grow confidently and drive the nation’s prosperity,” Amirreza Sawal, general manager of PayMate Asia Pacific, said.

Ernayanee Nur, chairman of Blyon Group Berhad and Oshien2u SDN BHD, commented, “Collaborating with PayMate marks a new era for De’Xandra. With their payment solutions and support for accessing crucial capital, we are confident that our operational efficiency will significantly improve enabling us to better serve our customers and expand our footprint across Malaysia.”

Manila, Philippines – Around 51% of women-led SMEs and 56% of microbusinesses in the Philippines saw revenue growth after they started accepting digital payments, new data from Visa recently revealed.

Considering that SMEs are important to the economy and that women make up more than half of the population in Asia, utilising women’s economic potential might boost the Asia Pacific region’s GDP by $89 billion a year, including the Philippines. 

According to the study, around 72% of the SMEs in the Philippines surveyed said that running their own business has gotten easier. Digital wallets—GCash in particular—dominate as the primary means of digital payment for SMEs, particularly those led by women (61%) according to a Philippine poll. Millions of unbanked Filipinos now have access to the advantages of having a payment card because of Visa’s partnership with GCash for the launch of the new GCash Card.

Out of all the companies that have begun to take digital payments, those that accept cards have seen the biggest gains in turnover (83%). Instantaneous transfers and cashless transactions are made possible by digital payments, improving the shopping experience. Visa helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the Philippines by providing broad acceptance and strong security against fraud for both customers and merchants. 

The Philippines has over a million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), making them important for the nation’s economic development. 99.5% of the businesses in the Philippines are MSMEs, according to data from the Department of Commerce and Industry. Almost 50% of these enterprises are involved in wholesale and retail commerce, which accounts for 65% of all jobs in the nation. 

Guaya Melgar, CEO and co-founder of Mochi, said, “My business has grown since I introduced digital payment methods. I appreciate the convenience, speed, and the ability to easily track payment records. It provides my customers with a convenient cashless payment option too. I hope to expand my business beyond the Philippines so enabling cross-border payments will help me grow my customer base.” 

Meanwhile, Jeff Navarro, Visa’s country manager for the Philippines, stated, “Small and medium-sized businesses are the driving force behind the thriving economy in the Philippines. Visa is proud to contribute to their growth by providing secure and convenient digital payment solutions. Visa is committed to continuously supporting the Philippine government’s financial inclusion and digitization goals, including empowering SMEs, the cornerstone of the economy, by introducing innovative financial and payment solutions so they can build on this foundation to grow their business.”

Recently, Visa released an online toolbox for SMEs to help travel-related businesses take full advantage of contactless payments. Visa launched the SME Accelerator Program in the Philippines in 2023 with the goal of assisting partners and SMEs with competitive pricing, expedited onboarding, and comprehensive go-to-market support. The enhanced SME Accelerator programs will also concentrate on a broader range of collaborations with ecosystem players to assist smaller vendors and expedite the implementation of solutions for SMEs.

To help women-owned and underrepresented SMEs in APEC countries like the Philippines gain faster access, the Visa Foundation has committed to donate $100 million over the course of five years. Approximately 29.6 million SMEs are from APEC economies, and 10.9 million of the nearly 67 million SMEs that Visa has addressed globally are led by women. 

Manila, Philippines – Global digital payments company Visa has launched its latest resource offerings to assist Filipino merchants, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

Taking full advantage of Visa’s digital payment solutions, this online toolkit aims to optimise the customer shopping experience and increase sales, particularly in the Philippine tourism sector.

This is part of Visa’s commitment to empower Filipino SMEs and boost tourism, a crucial growth sector for the economy, by helping more merchants offer seamless contactless payments.

The SME online toolkit offers merchants detailed, step-by-step instructions in English, including a script for cashiers on how to initiate and complete digital payment transactions.

The toolkit describes how most Visa cards have the contactless feature as identified by the symbol and includes instructions on how customers can tap the terminal with their card themselves to make payments.

Additionally, this toolkit offering from Visa comes alongside its other efforts to promote tourism in the Philippines, with its participation in the Philippine Department of Tourism’s tourism summit as a panel, as well as a partnership with the Pacific Association of Tourism (PATA) wherein Visa led a workshop trained tourism SMEs on financial, risk management, digital skills, and highlighting digital payments preferred by tourists.

Talking about this initiative, Jeff Navarro, country manager for Visa Philippines, said, “Visa is committed to empowering businesses with the latest payment technologies and enabling contactless payments to support the growth of tourism in the Philippines. With Visa’s new SME online toolkit, we hope to facilitate the widespread adoption of digital payments among SMEs, addressing the needs of the travel ecosystem and aligning with the preferences of today’s travellers.”

Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has formed a partnership with Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) and the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) to promote the growth of Filipino micro, small, and medium-sized companies (MSMEs). 

The DTI stated that on April 17, a memorandum of agreement was signed with JFC and JGF, formalising the collaboration. Its objective is to provide MSMEs with the necessary expertise and abilities to improve their business operations. The Jollibee Plaza Building in Ortigas, Pasig City, is where the MSMEs-focused learning sessions are set to start on April 25. 

The partnership seeks to foster relationships between MSMEs and major firms in accordance with the principles delineated in Republic Act 9501, which is commonly referred to as the Magna Carta for MSMEs. Small and large firms are expected to develop synergistic ties as a result of this interaction. 

Speaking about the partnership, Alfredo Pascual, DTI Secretary, said, “This MOU symbolises a partnership built on shared values, mutual respect, and a common goal. It is a testament to our collective belief in the private and public sectors in the transformative power of entrepreneurship and the profound impact it can have on individuals, families, and communities.” 

Meanwhile, DTI said, “Echoing DTI’s goals, Jollibee expressed its dedication to sustainable business practices through its ‘Joy for Tomorrow’ agenda. Crucial to a flourishing MSMEs ecosystem, this program focuses on the pillars of Food, People, and Planet, with a particular emphasis on supporting farmers’ livelihoods and community welfare.” 

Singapore – GrabAds’ “Marketing Manager”, its web-based marketing platform dedicated to SMEs, is now available on mobile in a bid to help SMEs in the Southeast Asia region to boost their sales. The platform was previously launched in June 2023.

‘Marketing Manager; has also introduced the all-new “spotlight campaigns” feature, exclusively for mobile, where Grab curates specially designed campaigns – often only for a limited time- to assist merchants in maximising visibility and enhancing sales conversions. 

Through this feature, merchants can strategically reserve high-visibility spaces for their stores, exclusively within Grab-hosted campaigns, increasing exposure and driving sales with a single, impactful campaign.

Moreover, MSME merchants on Grab can also use Marketing Manager’s newly enhanced features to drive more sales, including ease of creating ads based on their target audience requirements and sales goals; real-time reports help merchants readily gain insights into how successful their campaigns are; and ability for merchants to only pay for successful orders on a cost-per-order (CPO) basis.

Ken Mandel, regional head of GrabAds and Brand Insights, said, “GrabAds is committed to providing self-serve solutions to help our MSME merchant partners promote their products and drive more sales for their business through Grab. MSME merchants juggle various roles–from chef to bookkeeper, accountant and marketer– which necessitates their need for an easy-to-use, flexible yet effective marketing tool.”

He added, “When we conducted our own survey among our merchants, nearly half the merchants said that they prioritise conversion and cost when selecting an ad platform, which is why the latest features on Marketing Manager on mobile address the everyday challenges that our MSME merchants face.”

‘Marketing Manager’ on mobile is designed for merchants looking for straightforward and swift campaigns on mobile, providing a user-friendly option and is now available in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam. 

Meanwhile, for businesses in need of more advanced tools, the web-based Marketing Manager Pro offers more comprehensive features suited for digitally savvy merchants seeking greater customisation for their ad campaigns. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Southeast Asian martech firm OpenMinds Group has officially announced their partnership with the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), a private Malaysian university that aims to bring out the next generation of creative talent to the industry.

Through this partnership called ‘OpenCreative’, OpenMinds Group and Asia Pacific University will be working together in developing creative content production in the digital space for Malaysian SMEs.

Under the guidance of OpenMinds’ experienced creative leads, APU students will play an active role in creating content marketing products for SMEs, aiming to provide students with practical real-world experiences, in addition to meticulous quality checks to allow the students to improve and ensure that their work will comply with the highest standards.

The services offered by OpenCreative include creative content creation, such as copywriting, short videos, and graphic design. Additionally, custom content calendars and content advisory services are also available, with packages starting from as low as RM 1500 per month. These new services under OpenCreative, allow SMEs to tap into the experience and process that OpenMinds Group has developed.

The end goal of this project is to empower the creative community, regardless of professional experience, while also setting a better standard of quality for creative content among Malaysian SMEs in the digital space. This also perfectly aligns with Malaysia’s goal of upskilling its youths through experiential learning and real-world skill development to increase graduate and overall workforce employability.

Talking about the partnership, Dr. Ho Chin Kuan, vice chancellor of APU, said, “We are excited about our partnership with OpenMinds Group as it aligns with APU’s mission of empowering graduates with the skills needed to excel in global business and society.”

“Specifically focusing on technology, innovation, and creativity, this collaboration aims to equip students with the practical skills essential for making meaningful contributions to their industries, subsequently enhancing their employability. We look forward to the positive impact this partnership will bring to both of our operations”, he added. 

Meanwhile, Randy Too, director of OpenCreative and co-founder of OpenMinds Group, commented, “Collaborating with APU to enhance creative content production will not only aid Malaysian SMEs in spearheading digital transformation but will also establish a new standard for the quality of creative content in the country. We are honoured to work with the talented students at APU and anticipate creating a generation of independent creative individuals in the future.”

Singapore – Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) launched the GenAI Sandbox for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) today. This is a first step in enabling local SMEs greater access to GenAI and builds on both agencies’ ongoing efforts to strengthen AI development and ecosystem in Singapore.

According to the two entities, the ‘GenAI Sandbox’ is expected to benefit some 300 SMEs from sectors including retail, F&B, education, and hospitality, which will be able to tap on a range of GenAI solutions to elevate marketing and sales, and customer engagement efforts.

The first category, marketing and sales, will enable SMEs to generate varied and unique marketing content such as customised emails and social media posts that are tailored to individual campaign strategies. These solutions allow SMEs to shorten their marketing preparation process and harness GenAI capabilities to develop engaging content.

Meanwhile, its second category, customer engagement, will enable SMEs to better engage customers at scale using GenAI-powered chatbots, which allow customers to easily search for information, browse through personalised recommendations, or make reservations. These solutions enable SMEs to free up manpower to optimise operational efficiency, while concurrently improving customers’ experience.

All local SMEs can apply to participate in the Sandbox. Successful and eligible applicants will receive grant support from IMDA to trial one of the GenAI solutions of their choice for three months, to gain hands-on experience and better understand the functions of GenAI and the benefits to their businesses. 

Applications to the sandbox will close by end of May 2024, or if the maximum capacity for the Sandbox has been reached, whichever comes earlier.

Leong Der Yao, assistant chief executive for sectoral transformation group at IMDA, said, “With the potential transformative impact of GenAI, SMEs can benefit from experimenting with the technology, as part of their broader digitalisation journey. The sandbox of curated solutions will provide our SMEs greater accessibility to GenAI before deploying it on a larger scale.”

Meanwhile, Soh Leng Wan, assistant chief executive officer, manufacturing and engineering at Enterprise Singapore, commented, “This latest initiative to make available ready-to-use GenAI solutions to our local SMEs is part of our ongoing efforts to collaborate with public and private sectors to accelerate the growth of the AI ecosystem and developments in Singapore. We strongly encourage SMEs to come onboard the Sandbox to experience how their businesses can benefit from GenAI solutions.”

Philippines – As a key to catalysing e-commerce growth for online sellers, WorldFirst, a one-stop digital payment and financial services platform for cross-border trade SMEs has recently revealed its plan to launch its latest digital finance solutions.

The platform will cater to new southeast Asian markets including Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, and Malaysia in 2023 and 2024 and is set to provide online sellers with safe, fast, and reliable cross-border payment and financial services.

For this particular project, SMEs can now swiftly open a multi-currency world account to trade globally. In this case, money is deposited into the local collecting account of the sellers, where it will be immediately combined with the available amount. 

In addition, said world account provides a single user-friendly portal for sellers to manage their growing operations across countries and marketplaces. Sellers can then have tier stores, e-marketplaces and entities, while customising account statements accordingly for reconciliation.

Clara Shi, CEO at WorldFirst and Vice President at Ant Group, expressed her enthusiasm about this project, stating, “Building on our global fintech capabilities and strong success in China, Singapore and other markets, we are confident our secure and fast cross-border payment and e-commerce enablement services can help small businesses in Southeast Asia extend their international footprint.

Following its success in Chinese and Singaporean markets, WorldFirst will offer a hassle-free one-stop store opening services across global marketplaces. With an expedited process across 28 partner e-commerce platforms, set-up time for the seller goes down to within 24 hours.

Through this, sellers may now find a broad array of value-added professional services through WorldFirst and boost their growth in online advertising, logistics, and website development and management. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – With the holiday season around the corner, TikTok Shop gives Malaysian SMEs a boost during this 11.11 sales period by providing greater support for local small businesses with a brand spotlight segment. 

Focusing on Malaysian local brands, Tiktok Shop’s spotlight segment promoted several brands including dessini, casevalker, farm fresh and barang dapur basah as well as its very own Pertarungan Livestream Mega 11.11 (Mega Livestream Showdown 11.11).

This event, which was streamed on TikTok Shop, featured 10 well-loved local creators @tulippetals, @khairulaming, @dearcarynn, @bossa_sce_oe, @bossjerry88, @crackbrader, @aidunoo, @peemondayz, @almiyaz.my, and @akak_e, which took to their livestream sessions and highlighted their 11.11 product promotions as part of one of the biggest e-commerce events of the year.

Shoppers also acquired no minimum spend vouchers available through these livestreams between 8pm to 12 midnight on 11.11 itself to enjoy further savings on their purchases.

Alongside the livestream sessions, as part of the event, TikTok shop also provided entertainment with live performances by talented artists such as @daliafarhana, @gastonpong, @shilaamzahofficial, @itzputridahliaa, and @danialkifli__ .

These efforts by TikTok Shop to assist SMEs follow through from their efforts in 2022, partnering with 50 local ministries, GLCs, Educational institutions, and state governments to provide and build support for its sellers. 

This also includes a joint investment with MDEC worth RM31 million for the DE Dagang initiative, which benefitted 22,000 sellers in the form of product discounts, shipping vouchers, and transaction fee subsidies.

This was further amplified through the TikTok Shop Summit, held in 2023 to celebrate the platform’s 1-year anniversary in the Malaysian market, with TikTok Shop celebrating, educating, and awarding sellers for their contribution to the nation’s economy.

Singapore – Recommerce platform Carousell and corporate card and finance management platform YouBiz have announced a strategic partnership to help local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups accelerate their business growth with digitalisation tools and resources.

The partnership between the two platforms serves as a unique collaboration that aims to help SMEs maximise their resources and save on business expenses as they digitalise their operations.

To start, YouBiz has been helping over 3,000 businesses save annually by eliminating unnecessary administrative fees, coupled with its promise of 0% FX fee, unlimited cashback and seamlessly integrated digital solutions. These substantial savings allow SMEs to reinvest in their growth, and enhance their offerings and reach which ultimately creates a more vibrant and resilient business landscape.

As part of the partnership, Carousell merchants get to enjoy a 10% upsized cashback for their CarouBiz package and Carousell coins, while YouBiz users are offered an exclusive 20% rebate for their purchase of Carousell coins.

Beyond helping SMEs save costs, Carousell and YouBiz are also committed to empowering business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge they need to stay ahead in the digital economy.

Talking about the partnership, Johnny Lim, regional head of sales and business director of Carousell, said, “We are thrilled to partner with YouBiz, combining our reach of 1 in Singaporeans as active monthly users and YouBiz’s expertise in financial solutions, to help small local businesses and success in today’s fast-paced business landscape. Digitalisation is pivotal, and this collaboration exemplifies our commitment to provide simple-to-use and convenient ways for anyone to digitise their business.” 

Meanwhile, Kelvin Lam, chief operating officer of YouBiz by YouTrip, said, “Our partnership with Carousell is a strategic one that aims to equip SMEs with cost-saving tools and resources that help them accelerate their cross-border growth in this digital economy age. We are excited to be working with Carousell to support the growth of SMEs in the region. With our combined expertise and offerings, we can help more businesses tap into new markets and opportunities.”