Malaysia: Heart of Digital ASEAN

November is an exciting month in the digital world, and we’re not talking about 11.11 sales. The Malaysia Tech Month 2020 (MTM 2020), organised by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), is now on. Behold a month-long curation of the very best in digital and technology keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions. You can access any session, or all of them, from the comfort of your home at absolutely no charge!

The massive virtual MTM 2020 features more than 70 speakers, including visionary leaders and insightful investors, sharing why they chose to operate in Malaysia, as well as global tech figures.

MTM 2020 will showcase the country's world-class innovations and digital platforms for the world to see. It will also serve as a platform to connect the brightest minds in both digital and tech sectors and facilitate high-value networking opportunities for all participants. Participants can look forward to engaging exchanges of conceptual ideas and cutting-edge solutions from the region's fast-growing digital economy.

The three core themes in focus will be matching digital talents to industry demand, business digitalisation, and securing new digital investments. The end-goal for MTM 2020 is to fortify the rising confidence in Malaysia as a compelling digital and tech investment hub for the region.

MTM 2020 is the evolution of the Malaysia Tech Week 2019. In view of current events, MDEC had decided to make its tech event different – bigger and better – to better facilitate the sharing of ideas, inspiration and innovations in tech among investors and the tech and business communities as well as to regular Malaysians, MDEC Chief Marketing Officer Raymond Siva said in a press conference to promote MTM 2020.

“I’ve not seen a month-long series of events related to digital and tech, in the region or elsewhere. With the sheer quality of content and speakers that we have lined up, it’s hard to pick a favourite session. We’ll be looking at different conversations on different aspects of the industry,” he said, adding that he’s humbled by the strong reception for MTM 2020, and support from the speakers.

He urges everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from all the ideas, inspiration and innovations that will be shared in MTM 2020. MDEC aims to make Malaysia Tech Month an annual event, he added.

The main highlight of MTM 2020 is the two-day Opening Conference on 10-11 November, featuring keynote speakers Randi Zuckerberg (former Head of Marketing, Zuckerberg Media), Alexander Stubb (former Finland Prime Minister and Vice President of European Investment Bank), and Harry D. Moseley (Global CIO of ZOOM). Many of Malaysia’s tech ecosystem leaders will also be taking the virtual stage and share their views on what is trending in the digital and tech ecosystems. They include Patrick Grove (Co-Founder and Group CEO of Catcha Group), Stephanie Sitt (Co-Founder and CEO of Inmagine), Kamarul Muhamed (Founder and CEO of Aerodyne Group), and Joel Tay (Soft Space CEO).

MTM 2020 will also act as the overarching umbrella platform for all digital and tech industry events in November. This includes marque events that MDEC is organising and other tie-in programmes from ecosystem partners such as – Wild Digital Southeast Asia 2020: Virtual Edition, MyDroneTech Fest KL, MyDroneTech Fest Roundtable, State of the Global Islamic Economy 2020/21 Launch, LEVEL UP KL 2020: SEA Game Awards 2020, and LEVEL UP KL 2020: Play Day.

MDEC Chairman, YBhg. Datuk Wira Dr. Hj. Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff, shared: “MTM 2020 will support Malaysia’s Shared Prosperity ambition as the digital economy continues to show tremendous potential for equitable opportunities. Beyond strengthening the confidence of our country as a compelling digital and tech investment hub for Southeast Asia, MTM 2020 enables us to further our collective goals in building a 4^th Industrial Revolution (4IR)-ready workforce and widen our efforts to drive forward border-spanning innovations.”

Surina Shukri, CEO of MDEC said: “We are sparing no efforts to ensure digital technologies remain central to Malaysia’s socio-economic growth in this new norm. To achieve this, we must also ensure that the initiatives – both current and upcoming – are relevant to the unique needs that start-ups and SMEs. They must start to think regional and then go global. MTM 2020, serving as a strategic extension of the government’s continued push to develop and sustain a vibrant digital economy, will help to set the stage for digital-led economic growth, including attracting critical investments for the digital and tech sectors.”

“As we mark MDEC’s 25th anniversary in 2021, MDEC will stay the course in reinforcing Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN. This means delivering on our primary goals of accelerating digitally-skilled talents; driving digitally-powered businesses and creating a community of global tech champions; and enabling an investor-friendly environment for digital and tech investments. These will determine our long-term success and ability to shape economic resilience and shared prosperity for all,” she added.

According to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia’s digital economy is expected to contribute 20% to the economy by 2020. Malaysia’s digital economy had contributed 19.1% to the national economy, up from 18.7% in 2018. This year, the e-commerce sector will lead the charge as it is expected to exceed RM110 billion in revenue in that same period. This roughly equals to 40% of the nation’s digital economy.

Further details on MTM2020 can be found at https://mdec.my/mtm2020/.

Those keen on registering for the virtual events can do so at https://malaysiatechmonth.hubilo.com/community.