SIDEC AIMS 250 SUBMISSION, RM20 MLN SALE AT TOP ECM AWARDS THIS YEAR

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) -- Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) is targeting to receive 250 submissions and hit a total sale of RM20 million for the latest edition of Top E-Commerce Merchant (Top ECM) Awards.

In a statement today, the agency said the three-month competition offered RM60,000 worth of cash prizes and other attractive prizes in-kind.

It said all the shortlisted merchants would be judged based on three criteria that have been set by the organiser, namely online sales contest (50 per cent), livestream contest (25 per cent) and business potential (25 per cent)

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Sidec said the award seek to reward the most successful, creative and innovative homegrown e-commerce merchants.

It said participants are required to have an e-commerce store operated before March 2022 that sells products to end-users only (B2C), achieved at least RM25,000 in sales or a minimum of 100 orders in any single month between June 2021 to June 2022, supporting documents and is registered under the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).

It added that Affin Bank Bhd collaborated with Sidec as the main sponsor and SUBPLACE as the official e-commerce marketplace while Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) would be providing additional export facilitation to the top five winners of the Top ECM Awards for their international market expansion. 

“When we first launched in 2016, only 60 e-commerce merchants participated while in 2021, the numbers increased to 181 merchants and generated RM47 million in sales.

“The improvement shows that the e-commerce industry continues to grow, and Sidec is here to crown the best e-commerce merchants this year,” chief executive officer Yong Kai Ping said.

He said cumulatively, the competition recorded a total sales of RM123 million over the past six years.

Meanwhile, Sidec is also organising its first-ever Selangor Fashion Accelerator Programme to assist Malaysian startups and SMEs in developing a sustainable ecosystem for talents in the modest fashion sector. 

Yong said 16 candidates from 50 applicants would receive training from August 1 to  September 23, and only six would be chosen to pitch to investors and industry partners on Demo Day, which is scheduled to take place on October 8.

“We're here to provide digital solutions to help local entrepreneurs and small and medium entrepreneurs build their enterprises.

“The pandemic has caused a significant setback and we now need to give them a little push to leverage and lead them to digitalisation,” he said.

This event will take place on October 8 in conjunction with the seventh Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention (SDEC).

Registration for the programme is now open until July 15 for Malaysian fashion startups or SME with a minimum sales turnover of RM100,000 in 2020 or 2021 and have been in business for less than five years.

-- BERNAMA