Malaysia accelerates digital economic development in remote areas
The Digital Economy Centre (PEDi), which was created to offer collective Internet access for the less privileged in rural areas, now serves as a catalyst for the digital economy to help uplift the socio-economic status of local communities.
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The Digital Economy Centre (PEDi), which was created to offer collectiveInternet access for the less privileged in rural areas, now serves as acatalyst for the digital economy to help uplift the socio-economic status oflocal communities.
Speaking at the PEDi MADANI conference on November 29, Communications andDigital Minister of Fahmi Fadzil said that PEDi has offered training programmes in ICT,digital entrepreneurship and e-learning to benefit community members, especially those involved in the micro, small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMSEs), youths and students, in addition to value-addedservices including digital health services, cashless transactions and one-stoponline bill payments.
He said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)has conducted a study to assess the impact of PEDi as a one-stop centre to drivethe socioeconomic status of local communities and enhance human capitaldevelopment.
Amongthe findings obtained is an active usage rate of 94%, which indicates the loyaltyof users towards PEDi, he said, adding 89% of the respondents in the study alsoprovided positive feedback on the services and programmes offered by PEDi whilethe net promoter score indicated that 70% of respondents would encourage othersto visit the centre.
According to Fahmi, MCMC, Shopee and PEDistaff members have achieved the target to conduct digitisation effortsinvolving 7,000 entrepreneurs this year through the e-commerce platform with asales value totalling 15.7 million MYR (3.3 million USD).
Since 2021, the initiative has garnered 55.4 million MYR in sales value.
PEDi is also supported by service providers such as Telekom Malaysia,CelcomDigi, Maxis and Redtone, providing e-learning programmes for less privilegedstudents./.
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Illustrative photo (Photo: rakansarawak.com) 
