ALOR STAR: The #YOUCANDUIT campaign organised by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) here has received an overwhelming response from Kedahans as some 2,500 people have signed up for the e-Usahawan and e-Rezeki today.
Its Corporate Affairs vice president Razaleigh Zainal said MDEC is confident of achieving the targeted 5,000 Kedahans for the programmes throughout the two-day campaign held at the Menteri Besar official residence in Seri Mentaloon.
Razaleigh said MDEC has set a target to train 80,000 participants for the e-Usahawan programme and 100,000 participants for the e-Rezeki programme this year.
“We will continue to improvise the programme to improve its reach to the people.
“We are targeting for the overall sales value of RM60million for the e-Usahawan programme and RM70milion income through the e-Rezeki programme this year,” he said after Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah launched the event.
Present were state Science, Innovation and Information Communications Technology Committee chairman Datuk Norsabrina Mohd Noor and the programme’s Celebrity Ambassador Datuk Rosyam Nor, Fizo Omar and Erma Fatimah.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in tabling the 2017 Budget in October, announced a RM100 million allocation for the e-Usahawan and e-Rezeki programmes under MDEC, which would benefit 300,000 participants.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Bashah urged Kedahans to grab the opportunity to generate additional income and improve the capacity of their business by signing up for the programmes.
Bashah said Kedahans should not be left out in the enormous business opportunities offered by the fast expanding landscape of digital economy.
“These programmes are aimed to help entrepreneurs to build their business capacity and to help those in the Bottom 40 category to earn income through online businesses.
“I strongly encouraged youths and those interested in venturing into part-time and full-time businesses to grab this opportunity by taking part in the free training provided by MDEC,” he said.
On the high-speed broadband penetration in Kedah, Sabrina said the state government to embark on a joint effort with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to set up Internet centre in Kedah rural areas to enable more people to take part in the e-Usahawan and e-Rezeki programmes.
“The current high speed penetration in Kedah is about 65 per cent, without taking into account the 4G and LTE services and we have identified five rural districts which are considered as under-served areas.
“We (the state government) will go down to the ground with the MCMC to set up an Internet centre at selected areas in the five districts to help more rural folks get involve in these programmes,” he said, adding that last year 8,300 Kedahans had signed up for the programmes.