PETALING JAYA: To help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) survive these challenging times, the alumni of a university college has started a national initiative to support such businesses.
The alumni of the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) is hoping to provide SMEs with insights through a series of events that will guide them through economic uncertainties.
Called the SME Lighthouse initiative, the non-profit community service kicked off with a successful webinar on Aug 17 that offered advice and guidance for businesses.
The speakers of the first webinar included TAR UC board of governors chairman Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai, economist Tan Sri Dr Lau Ban Tin and PwC Malaysia assurance partner Tiang Woon Meng.
“As the sighs of despair from SMEs reverberate across the country during the pandemic, we have taken the initiative to start this initiative.
“We hope the SME Lighthouse initiative will support SMEs in Malaysia that need guidance to navigate the present economic turbulence to ensure survival and sustainability,” the alumni said in a press release.
The SME Lighthouse is now on to its next event, a webinar titled “Digitizing SMEs in Turbulent Times”.
The event, the second instalment in a series of webinar forums, will be held on Sept 3 from 2.30pm to 4.30pm on Zoom and is open to the public.
This event will also see the official launch of the SME Lighthouse initiative.
Interested members of the public can register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/9616297838729/WN_McXJrpsZRiKhX-m1_34cGA.Registered participants will also be given access to an e-copy of the “Guidelines on the Government’s Stimulus Package and Financial Assistance for Malaysian SMEs” compiled by TAR UC free of charge.
“To support the SME community, the research team in TAR UC conducted comprehensive research and compiled such guidelines.
“The guidelines contain relevant and updated information relating to support from the government and other bodies that would be needed by the SME community,” the alumni said.
The team behind the webinars is also putting together two more events titled, “Cash flow and funding for SMEs” and “Practical Digitization for transforming SMEs”.
“The SME Lighthouse will also provide online coaching clinics and online support on business advisories, digitization, wellness, debt management and human resource strategies,” it added.
