SINGAPORE (Sept 24): United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) has selected 16 Malaysian businesses to participate in The FinLab’s Jom Transform Programme.
The FinLab is UOB’s Singapore-based innovation accelerator that operates acceleration programmes to help grow fintech companies and catalyse the digital transformation of businesses.
The Jom Transform Programme is run by The FinLab, in collaboration with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Kuala Lumpur & Selangor (KLSCCCI), the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), Maxis, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), and SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp Malaysia). This is the first business transformation programme in Malaysia to help local enterprises digitalise their operations to drive growth.
Created in Singapore, the programme was subsequently launched in Thailand and Malaysia earlier this year.
The Malaysian programme launched in June, and saw interest from 900 Malaysian companies from a wide range of sectors including food manufacturing and distribution, food and beverage, healthcare, business consulting, automotive, logistics, and manufacturing.
Each company showed a willingness to implement technology to improve their business, while the small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also plan to harness technology to optimise their inventory, distribution and human resource management systems.
The SMEs participating in the Jom Transform Programme will be subsidised by UOB Malaysia and their businesses will be mentored by the programme’s collaboration partners.
During the three-month Jom Transform Programme, the owners and key decision makers of the 16 businesses will be matched with technology partners to pilot and to assess the effectiveness of their digital solutions. Upon completing the Jom Transform Programme, the businesses will share their outcomes and learnings with the public at a ‘Showcase Day’.
Wong Kim Choong, CEO of UOB Malaysia, says the Jom Transform Programme is part of the Bank’s commitment to help businesses overcome their business transformation challenges for better productivity and sustainable growth.
“At UOB, we are committed to supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises progress through their different stages of growth. Having served the SME community in Malaysia for more than six decades, we have a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges they face. In particular, as family-owned businesses transition from the first- to second-generation leadership, we see an accelerated use of technology in their business. Yet many business leaders lack the skills to implement digital solutions successfully and effectively. Through the Jom Transform Programme, we aim to help Malaysian businesses better harness technology to drive business growth and to prepare for the future,” adds Wong.
