MEASAT and Parcel365 to Accelerate Rural Entrepreneurship in Partnership with Corporate Sector

Corporations and individuals can now support rural entrepreneurs to create employment opportunities among villagers through Program Transformasi Usahawan under the KampungDigital365.com initiative; first batch to focus on empowering women entrepreneurs

24 August 2023

MEASAT Global Berhad Rural Broadband Service Provider officially activated the Program Transformasi Usahawan (PTU) segment of the KampungDigital365.com initiative today, in partnership with Parcel365 Sdn Bhd and M2B Services Sdn Bhd (collectively “Parcel365”). The activation was marked by a launch event that included the introduction of the PTU platform, which enables corporations and individuals to support the sales of local products, as well as training and creation of employment for villagers. The PTU will first focus on empowering women entrepreneurs to uplift themselves and their communities via the digital economy, while subsequent phases will target youths and farmers, among others.

The launch – held at the MEASAT Teleport and Broadcast Centre in Cyberjaya, was officiated by Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Dato' Ramli Mohd Nor – the Member of Parliament for Cameron Highlands, who had previously attended the KampungDigital365.com launch at Pos Sinderut in Kuala Lipis. Also in attendance were representatives from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), which is supporting the PTU, as well as from early contributors and partners of the PTU, such as SQV Sdn Bhd, Hanuara Partners Sdn Bhd, 4X4 Relief Malaysia and Syntrino Solutions Sdn Bhd.

“I am pleased to witness the start of the Program Transformasi Usahawan so soon after the launch of KampungDigital365.com. It is important to keep up the momentum of this initiative to improve digital economy access and drive development of our rural communities. As Malaysia celebrates its 66th Merdeka Day next week, it is indeedfitting to keep our fellow Malaysians in rural areas in mind and do our part to empower them and provide them a level playing field. I encourage both corporations and individuals to extend their support to the PTU, MEASAT and Parcel365 so we may tap on the digital economy potential within Malaysia’s villages,” said Dato' Ramli Mohd Nor, Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker and Member of Parliament for Cameron Highlands.

Participants in the PTU will be provided startup capital, tools and access to CONNECTme NOW high-speed broadband to get their business activities off the ground while being trained in eCommerce and marketing skills to sustain their businesses successfully. In the first phase, the training is targeted at five Kampung Orang Asli (KOA) sites in Pahang, namely KOA Titom, KOA SOP, KOA Simoi Lama, KOA Sekam Batu 17 and KOA Kedut. The inaugural phase targets to train 125 entrepreneurs, which in turn supports 2,500 villagers from the Orang Asli community, at a projected investment of RM500,000 for all expenses across five months.

Corporations and members of the public can support the PTU by ordering listed products from the website to generate income for the villagers. For more information on the PTU sponsorship programme or to contribute, please visit https://shopla365.com/pages/program-transformasi-usahawan-ptu. The PTU is also supported by MDEC’s Sharing Economy Programme, whereby MDEC empowers Malaysians by utilising crowdsourced assets, goods and skills, to help them generate income via digital platforms.

“As Malaysia's Rural Broadband Service Provider, we are committed to connecting rural communities nationwide to the benefits of reliable high-speed internet connectivity and creating an ecosystem to develop the digital economy in rural areas. In our empowerment efforts, we believe that women are a key demographic whereby elevating them also means empowering families and the community. Thus, we are rolling out Phase 1 of the PTU in partnership with Parcel365 with a focus on women entrepreneurs in rural areas,” said Yau Chyong Lim, Chief Operating Officer, MEASAT.

Eddie Mok Yew Keong, Co-Founder and Director of Parcel365 added, “We are excited to progress to the next phase of KampungDigital365.com so quickly, and we hope that potential sponsors for the PTU will be as keen as we are to make a difference in the lives of rural Malaysians. We encourage everyone to explore ways to optimise the human resource and talent potential among the villagers, not just as sponsors but as customers offering sustainable business opportunities via the digital economy. Combined with the full suite of services offered by Parcel365 and our sister platforms, the villagers will in turn see positive change as their business opportunities grow.”

Empowering rural communities

The PTU is part of KampungDigital365.com – a joint initiative by MEASAT and Parcel365  to open up eCommerce buying and selling, income streams and job opportunities for rural communities through logistics, skill development and infrastructure support that help them overcome the limitations of living in remote villages. Sister platform Shopla365 offers eCommerce platform support and business solutions, as well as entrepreneurship training and online product marketing assistance to help villagers optimise their digital economy potential.

The KampungDigital365.com initiative is powered by MEASAT’s CONNECTme NOW high-speed satellite broadband WiFi Hotspot service, which supports all digital applications and online services including transactions, communications, training and other use cases. The collaboration between MEASAT and Parcel365 enhances digital inclusivity among rural communities with the CONNECTme NOW agent serving as the local KampungDigital365.com programme operator. With CONNECTme NOW currently covering nearly 4,000 rural and remote sites, many Malaysians in rural areas are poised to benefit from more efficient access to the digital economy. By 2027, the KampungDigital365.com initiative targets to have 3,000 participating villages, generating 25 million eCommerce transactions annually.