KUALA LUMPUR: Facebook Malaysia is launching their Small Business Grant programme, where approximately RM3.2 million in grants will be used to support over 300 local small businesses that are facing economic uncertainties in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Facebook Malaysia country director Nicole Tan said small businesses are the backbone of the economy and Covid-19 pandemic has hit them the hardest.
"We are acutely aware that supporting them now and in the future is critical for the economy of the country and that's why we've pulled together resources and continue to build digital tools to support small businesses navigate through the next normal and emerge stronger from the pandemic," she said in a statement today.
According to the State of Small Business Report, an ongoing study by the World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Facebook into small businesses, nearly 58 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) surveyed in Malaysia said they are concerned about cash flow in the coming months.
SMBs are the backbone of the nation's economy and account for 38.9 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), 48.4 per cent of employment and 17.9 per cent of Malaysia's export business.
Each Small Business Grant amounts to RM9,400, which includes RM5,900 in cash and RM3,500 in optional ad credits.
Applications are open from 6 October to 12 October, 2020. Businesses do not need to have a Facebook presence in order to apply.
To be eligible, the business must have between 2 and 50 employees, been in business for
more than one year and experienced challenges due to the pandemic.
Moving on, Facebook Malaysia also noted that the State of Small Business Report also showed small businesses have made serious efforts to go digital by moving operations online, with 44 per cent of operational SMBs on Facebook reporting 25 per cent or more of their sales were made digitally in the past month.
In order to help businesses as they speed up their transformation to tackle the change in consumer behaviour, Facebook continues to create new digital tools for them to adopt and shift online, such as Facebook Shops and Facebook Business Suites.
Facebook Malaysia also noted that the partnership between Philips and local retailer, Senheng Malaysia to leverage on collaborative ads campaign to increase in-store sales of its products is an example of digital adoption to address changing consumer behaviour.
When the Movement Control Order (MCO) took effect, Philips and Senheng had to quickly pivot to e-commerce, shifting the focus of the campaign to online sales.
Philips and Senheng uploaded its catalogue of products available at Senheng and utilised the collection ad format to automatically display the products people would be most
interested in based on individual preferences.
When people clicked on mobile, Senheng's online store opened within the app to offer a seamless shopping experience.
By shifting focus to ecommerce with Facebook Collaborative Ads, Philips successfully increased sales with Senheng.
The online campaign reached 1.3 million people, 4.6 times
increase in purchases versus previous campaigns and more importantly, they were able to stay connected and engaged with their clients despite social distancing requirements.