MDEC’s Malaysia Tech Month 2020 closes on a high note

Spotlighting the nation as one of the top Southeast Asia destinations for digital investments, the Malaysia Tech Month 2020 (MTM 2020) closed with the promise of better things to come in the digital and tech sectors in 2021.

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), as part of its plan to organise a proper follow-up to the well-received Malaysia Tech Week last year, curated this month-long virtual event and played host to a bevvy of industry figureheads and ecosystem innovators. The various keynotes and panels affirmed and expanded on the achievements of Malaysia as it accelerates its digital economy. Key to this is how MTM 2020 was also a showcase of the country's readiness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and having further fortified Malaysia’s position as a compelling digital and tech investment hub.

“The holistic approach to MTM 2020, which connected business, investment and regulatory communities, served as a timely reminder to the world that the digital economy is now booming and an impetus to drive forward similar efforts. This will, directly, position Malaysia’s economy as a source of empowerment for digitalisation. Featuring the very best digital and technology entrepreneurs along with solutions and content providers, both local and global, MTM 2020 is the ideal platform to connect the brightest minds in digital and tech facilitation; strengthen business digitalisation; provide opportunities to participate in high-value networking sessions; and enable investors, corporates and entrepreneurs to exchange innovative ideas and introduce new solutions and change the region’s fast-growing digital economy,” said YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia.

For its launch conference and the Digital Investment Summit that MDEC organised, both curated a total of 36 webinars and featured 132 speakers, attracting participants from over 50 countries. With the inclusion of partner events that ran under MTM 2020 as the curation platform, it attracted over 20,000 attendees in total throughout the month of November.

“As MTM 2020 features the nation’s very best in the tech and digital ecosystems – all of which are enabled with their visionary leaders, there is no doubt that Malaysia continues to be the trailblazer for the digital economy. You’ve learned what are the current and upcoming digital economy trends. There will be more to come as we continue to discover, albeit virtually, how to directly engage and leverage from these opportunities. This will include a showcase of the great lengths this country has taken to grow and transform its digital economy. It will be the clarion call for global digital and tech industries to further their investments into Malaysia,” added YB Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia.

Beyond its initial 2-day conference for the launch, MTM 2020 also featured other tie-in and partner events, such as DataKITA.Pulse Conference; the Digital Investment Summit; MyDroneTech Festival; and TechFest LIVE! Road to WCIT Malaysia. These, along with other tie-in ecosystem and award events, complemented each other to make November 2020 an unusually exciting and immersive month for the digital and technology sectors.

“These were a major showcase on the socio-economic potential that Malaysia’s digital economy possesses. From the proven tech ecosystem; to highly supportive business policies; and even digitally diverse and versatile talent pool, all of them effectively reinforced the nation as a natural choice for global and regional business to 'Land and Expand’. These factors certainly move us closer to our ambition of establishing Malaysia as the Heart of a Digital ASEAN,” shared Surina Shukri, CEO, MDEC.

MTM 2020 was also organised as a follow-up to the government’s active response in harnessing opportunities in the era of 4IR. This includes catalysing the growth of technologies, like artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), while achieving sustainable development of the digital economy and shared prosperity for all Malaysians.

“The diversity of our audience, be it the speakers or attendees, is telling of the interest the global community has on Malaysia’s ongoing digital transformation. Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand were heavily represented, as were the United States and the United Kingdom. Malaysia's central geographical location in ASEAN, its young digitally-skilled population; multi-cultural and multi-lingual tapestry; easy access to capital and regional markets; ease of doing business; the certainty of its legal system; comparative value; and high standard of living, makes Malaysia an active contributor to economic resilience locally and in the region. We now stand at the cusp of the 4IR technologies, which may well be the panacea to the wave of uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought about. We are ever-ready to face – head-on and lead the digital economy in this new era of disruption,” added YB Datuk Wira Dr. Hj. Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff, Chairman, MDEC.

While MTM 2020 comes to an end, MDEC still has various initiatives that are running and expected to come online in the coming months. This includes the continued growth of its Malaysia Digital Hub, an initiative that grew to 19 locations this year – up from six in 2019. There is also the Go-eCommerce Expo, a follow-up event to e-Dagang Expo that is set to be another huger step to boost e-commerce. The focus of this conference: live streaming e-commerce.

As for next year, it will see MDEC ringing in its 25th anniversary as it doubles down on building a future-ready workforce, establishing border-spanning innovations and creating alliances committed to advancing the digital economy and achieve its vision of Malaysia 5.0.

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About Malaysia Tech Month 2020 (MTM2020)

Malaysia Tech Month 2020 (MTM 2020), a month-long curation of the very best in digital and technology keynotes, workshops and discussion panels, is an inaugural showcase of the country's world-class innovations and digital platforms. It will mainly feature visionary leaders and insightful investors as they share why they chose to operate in Malaysia.

The goal of MTM 2020 is to connect the brightest minds in both digital and tech sectors and facilitate high-value networking opportunities for all participants. Enabling the exchange of conceptual ideas and cutting-edge solutions from the region's fast-growing digital economy, it aims to drive MDEC's aspirations in establishing Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN and further reinforce Malaysia's ambitions to become a powerhouse for the digital economy.

Further details on MTM 2020 are available at https://mdec.my/mtm2020/

#MTM2020 #HeartofDigitalASEAN

About Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is a government agency under the purview of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia entrusted to lead Malaysia's digital economy forward. Incorporated in 1996 to oversee the development of the MSC Malaysia initiative, MDEC's primary mandate today is to accelerate the growth of digitally-skilled Malaysians, digitally-powered businesses and digital investments in Malaysia. MDEC is focused on creating inclusive, high-quality growth through the nationwide digitalisation initiatives that are in line with the Government’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 and firmly establishing Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN.

#LetsBuildTogether #DigitalMalaysiaForward

To find out more about MDEC’s Digital Economy initiatives, please visit us at https://mdec.my/ or follow us on:

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Twitter: @mymdec