‘Boost’-ing the community to overcome Covid-19 adversity
- 31st August 2020
Our mandate has always been to help the underserved MSME business communities by leveraging on e-wallet technology.
Seeing familiar hangout spots or eateries, and neighborhood carwash centers in and around towns and cities with their shutters down or slapped with new “For Rent/Sale” signs have become a common sight in this new normal. Similarly, we have often heard stories about many business owners on the brink of giving up their businesses because of the volatility and uncertainty of the situation.
Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of Boost shared that driving down on Jalan Tun Sambanthan by Brickfields near the office these days and seeing shops closed served as a poignant reminder on the effects of the pandemic, but was equally encouraged to see life and activity slowly recovering to the colorful and vibrant character “Little India” is known for.
“One of the biggest lessons learnt from COVID-19 is that tackling this health and economic crisis required a collective community and national effort. This is the first time that most of us have lived through a crisis that has no prejudices of social class, age, race or creed. Every one of us has a role to play in battling this pandemic and making sure that we’re taking care of each other.
“For us, on top of complementing the government’s recent PRIHATIN and PENJANA economic stimulus and recovery packages, our mandate has always been to help the underserved MSME business communities by leveraging on e-wallet technology. From the early days of MCO, we knew that cash flow, especially for the MSMEs is pivotal in their survival and the need for practical, scalable quick and effective payment solutions became urgent.
“Every single cent counts and we also knew that just a matter of days of poor cash flow can mean the difference between having to give up or sustain their business. We introduced Boost Payment Link to support these businesses as they had to rely on delivery services to continue operating as well as to mitigate the risks of being short-changed from the Cash-on-Delivery option,” Khairil said.
The Boost Payment Link gives businesses the ability to send a link with a preset payment amount to customers via commonly used messaging tools like WhatsApp and SMS thus ensuring that businesses receive the correct payment amount. This contactless payment solution has since gained popularity with a usage growth of 21 times since its launch back in March.
“We’ve always said that MSMEs are the heartbeat of our economy and this was true as according to our data, Boost merchants from the small and micro business segment performed better at maintaining earnings during the downturn compared to larger enterprises. Our MSME merchants have seen an increase in consumer spend by 85% in July 2020 compared to in April 2020 during MCO. This means the recovery is well on its way and is a very positive sign for these businesses. The MSME E-Commerce Campaign, an all-inclusive merchant onboarding program part of PENJANA that enables MSMEs to benefit from simple solutions to bring businesses online will further aid in the business continuity and recovery process,” added Khairil.
As we walk on this long road of recovery, remember that community is very important in this journey of rebuilding with resilience. This 63rd Merdeka, let’s relive the tenacity and grit of our forefathers in achieving independence for our beloved Malaysia and use that same strength as a nation showing the true spirit of ‘Malaysia Prihatin’ to support and safeguard each other’s wellbeing and health. We’ve already done the first step of practicing the simple steps of social distancing and good hygiene and successfully flattened the curve. The next step of working towards a collective effort in rebuilding the economy, businesses and livelihoods should be effortless for Malaysians while at the same time fighting to be free of the COVID-19 threat.
“We at Boost will persevere to fulfil our role in the community to ensure that we do all that we can to strengthen and reinforce the foundation of our economy through further supporting the MSME community. We need to come together as a nation and support one another in these trying times. It’s up to us — #KitaBoostKita.” Khairil concluded.
Micro and small businesses interested to be part of the MSME E-Commerce Campaign with Boost can visit www.myboost.com.my/business/penjana-msme-ecommerce-campaign-e-wallet/.
