THE Selangor State Government recently hosted its seventh edition of the Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention (SDEC), which welcomes the future of a smart city and aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) embrace digitalisation sustainably.
Organised by the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec), the four-day convention gathered industry leaders, academics and SMEs to delve into the mechanics of smart cities as well as digital economy frameworks and solutions.
SDEC 2022 was part of the Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS) 2022, and adopted the theme 'Sustainable Digitalisation Towards a Net-Zero Future'.
The convention had two main tracks, namely the Smart City Track and Digital Economy Track.
The Smart City Track comprised the Asian Smart City Conference, Net Zero and Circular Economy Forum and Tech Exhibition.
Meanwhile, the Digital Economy Track comprised the Selangor SME Digitalisation Conference, Selangor Fashion Accelerator (Demo Day), Livestream Festival and Tech Exhibition.
SMART CITY TRACK
One of the biggest conferences that Sidec has planned, the Asian Smart City Conference gathered mayors and representatives from 11 cities worldwide to share their knowledge, experiences and approaches to resolve city liveability challenges through smart technologies.
The participating cities included Taipei, Asan City, Chiang Mai, Kaohsiung City, Jakarta, Khoen Kaen, Seongbuk District, Sunshine Coast, Rayong, Amsterdam and Makassar.
Meanwhile, the Net-Zero and Circular Economy Forum also gathered 24 experts from different industries and backgrounds to speak and discuss in panel sessions. The panel sessions covered smart mobility and zero-emission vehicles, smart waste and river management, solar, biofuel and biomass energy, smart cloud and data governance, smart technologies for energy and green investment and financing.
The attendees also witnessed the launch of Selangor Digital School (SDS), which aims to solve the shortage of digital talents in Selangor as the State pushes forward towards digitalisation.
SDS is a co-creation project that symbolises the collaboration of the central government, state government, private investors, venture capital funds, startups through PENJANA Capital, Sidec, The Hive, EZT Group and DMC.
In addition, chief executive officer of Sidec Yong Kai Ping recited the Selangor Declaration on Sustainable Smart Cities, which was witnessed by Datuk Menteri Besar of Selangor YAB Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and city representatives.
The declaration was also part of the state's commitment to developing a smart city ecosystem and in line with its vision to become a Liveable Smart State in ASEAN by 2025.
This would strengthen its capacity to harvest opportunities associated with the ongoing digital and fourth industrial revolution, and achieve wide-ranging and beneficial, economical, social and environmental outcomes.
"Under the Smart Selangor Action Plan 2025, the Selangor government is spearheading the adoption of smart digital technologies via four key domains, namely Smart Government, Smart Economy, Smart Community and Smart Digital Infrastructure to pursue inclusiveness, resilience and innovation," said Amirudin.
DIGITAL ECONOMY TRACK
Meanwhile, the Selangor SME Digitalisation Conference was officiated by Selangor state executive councillor for Industry and Trade Datuk Teng Chang Khim.
It gathered 19 experts of moderators and panellists from various backgrounds to discuss and share the current trends in the digitalisation of SMEs.
The topics covered were:
- The Rise of Fintech and Digital Bank
- Digital Trade Revolution: Post-Pandemic Growth for SMEs,
- 'Blitzscale' Your Business Towards Unicorn Status
- How Livestream Can Elevate Retail Businesses
The conference also gathered 16 industrial experts from Wavpay, Revenue Monster, Razer Merchant Services, Lazada, Tmall Taobao, Subplace, eBay, Commerce.Asia, Carsome, Dropee, Exabyte, Trinity42, Tiktok Shop and Nuffnang Live Commerce.
In his speech, Teng mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant influence globally, especially on the growth of the digital economy.
"The e-commerce sector has continued to grow quickly this year, which has helped many firms, particularly SMEs, to stay afloat," said Teng.
"As digital technologies foster innovation, provide job opportunities and stimulate economic growth, the digitalisation of the economy generates advantages and efficiency."
Meanwhile, the chief executive officer of Sidec Yong Kai Ping also said that the digital economy is entering a correction period after two years of skyrocketing growth, valuations and fundraising, due to macroeconomic factors such as high inflation and rising interest rates.
"In the last couple of months, we have suddenly started hearing terms like 'funding winter is approaching' or 'winter is here'. Some companies have deferred hiring, reduced burn rate, downsized, approached expansion plans cautiously, and focused on generating positive net income," said Yong.
"I believe this is part and parcel of an entrepreneurial journey. As the saying goes 'tough times never last, but tough people do'."