MATRADE TO ENGAGE WITH LOCAL FIRMS VIA EXPORT DEVELOPMENT, PROMOTION PROGRAMMES

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 -- Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) plans to engage with more than 13,000 Malaysian companies through its exporters development and export promotion programmes this year.

Deputy chief executive officer (exporters development) Abu Bakar Yusof said these programmes are curated to strengthen the resilience of the local companies in the post-COVID-19 recovery period.

“The programmes are focused on the creation of more export champions in high-value sectors, utilisation of digital platforms, inclusiveness, tapping into current market trends, and forging strategic collaborations,” he said during a screen setting session at the second day of eNational Export Day (eNED2021) today.

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Abu Bakar said the exporters development programmes focus on equipping companies with the skills to develop a strategic advantage and promote the values of sustainability as stipulated in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

He said the eNED2021 is timely amid the materialisation of the government’s commitment for sustainability and digitalisation.

Both subject matters cut across the whole export supply chain as digitalisation is not only about e-commerce but may encompass the whole processes, and likewise, sustainability relates to the wholesomeness of the concept and not bit and pieces of preference.

Hence, MATRADE pushes to get more local companies to be on board with the agency in carrying out this agenda, he said.

“To advocate sustainability among exporters, we have the Sustainability Action Values for Exporters (SAVE) Programme, an embodiment of MATRADE’s leadership role in the adoption of sustainability, in line with the UN SDG.

“For digitalisation, MATRADE leverages extensively on the technology to implement export promotion as an alternative to conventional physical activities which are no longer viable today.” 

In conforming to the new norms, MATRADE leverages on digital technology to conduct export promotion programmes and this indirectly minimises costs not only to the government but also to the exporters -- a relief to their financial burden.

Abu Bakar said among the strategies that have been put in place is the online business-to-business (B2B) meetings, commonly known as eBizMatch.

In 2020 alone, MATRADE conducted a total of 1,365 eBizmatch sessions for 1,115 Malaysian companies and 703 foreign buyers worldwide.

“This effort is still ongoing and up to May 31, 354 eBizMatch meetings were held for the year,” he added.

-- BERNAMA