KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Visa has launched “Where You Shop Matters”, an initiative that encourages consumers to support their local business, while helping Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to go digital amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement today, it said the initiative is aligned with the Malaysian government’s “Buy Malaysian Products Campaign” that was launched last month and Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign to encourage domestic travel.
“This initiative is a part of Visa’s broader small business strategy and follows commitments the company has made to support 10 million small and micro business in Asia-Pacific.
“In addition, the Visa Foundation has committed US$210 million (RM876 million) to support small and micro business and immediate Covid-19 emergency relief earlier this year,” it said.
Visa Malaysia county manager Ng Kong Boon said the company’s focus is to help these small businesses embark on the digitalisation journey to start and grow their online presence, and offer SMEs an e-commerce toolkit, together with Visa commercial offers to help them start, manage and grow their online storefronts.
Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said the agency was proud to expand its long-standing relationship with Visa as the parties work towards recovering and boosting the nation’s economy through local tourism and brands.
“Since the interstate travel ban was lifted, we have seen an increased appreciation for the local tourism industry. Through Visa’s variety of offerings for cardholders, as well as local entrepreneurs, we believe we will continue to see an enhanced patriotism among Malaysians for locally-made goods and services,” he said.
Based on the recent Visa study conducted on Malaysians, almost half of Malaysians intend to shop online more often. The data shows 83 per cent of Malaysians believe it is important for small businesses to have an online presence.
“As part of the Where You Shop Matters initiative, Visa has partnered with several e-commerce enablers such as BigCommerce, EasyStore, SiteGiant, and StoreHub to encourage and help SMEs begin their journey to kick start their businesses online,” added Visa.
For more information, click here. — Bernama
