Publication: Digitalizing SMEs to Boost Competitiveness
Date
2022-10
ISSN
Published
2022-10
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
While Malaysia’s digital economy had
already been growing rapidly over the past decade, the
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has further
accelerated this trend. In particular, increased access to
digital platforms has enabled businesses of all sizes to
mitigate the crisis’ adverse impacts. At the same time, the
depth and breadth of small and medium enterprise (SME)
digitalization has remained limited, suggesting a growing
risk of digital divide in the country. This report analyzes
opportunities and challenges for Malaysian SMEs to better
leverage digital tools and platforms to increase their
productivity and competitiveness. It is structured around
three complementary analytical pillars: (i) a digital
business landscape diagnostic presenting the extent of
digitalization and use of digital platforms among SMEs in
traditional sectors, and the constraints that SMEs still
face to digitalize; (ii) an institutional and policy mapping
reviewing the government of Malaysia’s efforts to foster SME
digitalization; and (iii) a digital market regulations
assessment evaluating the adequacy of Malaysia’s digital
regulatory environment, to identify shortcomings that may
undermine SMEs’ capacity to access and benefit from the use
of digital platforms. The analysis has been undertaken with
a view to inform the implementation of the Malaysia Digital
Blueprint (MyDIGITAL).
Citation
“World Bank. 2022. Digitalizing SMEs to Boost Competitiveness. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/38108 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”