Enterprise Explores

Malaysians are a talented lot and have certainly made their mark across all industries such as sports, science, business and even entertainment. The question is, why aren’t they back home contributing to our nation’s development with their expertise? Deepa George, managing consultant at MYHRC joins us to help unpack this issue and what Malaysia can do to potentially attract our local talents back...

In kindergarten, do you remember being fascinated and captivated by the stories your teachers told during story time? Well, that doesn’t change when it comes to attracting customers. Storytelling is one of the most powerful marketing tools, and we discuss why your startup needs a story and it needs someone to tell the story. Associate Professor Dr. Nurul Nisa Omar, the Dean of Faculty of Arts &amp...

We’re currently a fair few months into all sectors reopening and roughly 4 months before the end of 2022. How have our businesses and SMEs been doing so far? According to a report by Moody’s Investors Service, businesses in the emerging markets within the APAC region are projected to perform better than competitors in the developed markets but is this the case for Malaysia? We hear from Chin Chee...

How important are Learning and Development opportunities to employees today? According to the Randstad 2022 Workmonitor survey, 97 percent of employees want to be upskilled. We take a deep dive into the survey to better understand the findings and the psyche behind the employee mindset today. Sruthi Nambiar from Randstad Malaysia joins us to unpack the details.  Image Credit: Shutterstock | a...

Online shopping has been on the upward trend with many of us finding it convenient to purchase what we need online. A bulk of these purchases are actually low-value goods buoyed by impulse buying due to the low price point. The dewan rakyat has recently passed an amendment to the Sales Tax which will allow these low-value goods to be taxed. To get some insights into this new tax and its potential...

What is the metaverse? To many of us, it’s a virtual universe in which we can shop, play games, or even work. To big tech companies and businesses, it is a market of untapped potential that everyone is jumping into. It’s also been called the next iteration of the internet which will change the web as we know it. We speak to Khalid Gibran, Co-founder and CEO of Meta Universe to learn more about the...

MIHAS was one of the key contributors to Malaysia’s positive trade performance which reached a record high of RM2.2 trillion in 2021. In this vein, MIHAS 2022 is back with a hybrid showcase and with its theme to diversify Halal possibilities, MIHAS wants to connect foreign businesses and trades with Malaysian companies to leverage Malaysia’s halal exports. We speak to Sharimahton Mat Saleh, Deputy...

Malaysia is currently beset by a shortage of skilled labour and TVET talents. A report in the Edge detailed how this is actually hampering our pandemic recovery. What has led up to this situation unfolding? We speak to Sofea Azhar, a senior researcher from ISIS Malaysia to understand the issue at hand and how TVET uptake might be the solution to our shortage of skilled labour.  Image Credit:...

Mergers and acquisitions are part and parcel of the corporate environment. When done right, it can build industry giants. A few good examples of this working out in a big way are Google and Android, Disney and Pixar. Yet, 70 to 90 percent of mergers and acquisitions break down which leads to the curious question, why? We speak to  Cilia Rasasegram, HR Consultant and Chief Experience Officer a...

Young graduates these days are facing challenges kick-starting their career as they cannot get a job without experience, yet they cannot get the necessary experience without a job. What has led up to this situation plaguing our young graduates and how can it be addressed? We speak to Andrew Pereira, CEO of General Assembly Malaysia to understand the issue and discuss the solutions moving forward.&...

As we move into the modern age of marketing, do traditional methods such as billboards and print ads still have a place in selling a product or service? Digital marketing has started to gain traction as people discover the power of connectivity and granular data that it offers. We speak to Anna Loi, co-founder of Good & Honest Co to understand the importance of digital marketing and how it can...

Our understanding of traditional social media has been based on a top-down approach from content creators to followers who interact by liking or commenting on the released content. Recently, there has been a shift to social chat programs such as Discord, Geneva and Telegram due to their perceived openness and safer space while offering a more engaging experience to their users. We speak to Jan Won...

Running a business is no easy feat with financing and cash flow being a constant concern. The Edge Malaysia recently issued a cover story detailing how SMEs are struggling with loan repayments and applying for new loans. This is amidst other issues such as raw material prices, inflation and labour shortages hampering potential growth. We speak to Dr Mohd Shahreen Madros, Adjunct Professor at UKM G...

Global food security is threatened by food price hike, climate change and labour shortage, it has triggered a global crisis that will drive millions more into extreme poverty and magnifying hunger. Knowing this, how and why are we still wasting food? In fact, food waste is increasing year on year globally. And many have made strides to solve this problem, specifically with technology. We speak to...

Despite rising popularity, are ESG investments really delivering the positive impact it’s supposed to? According to the Harvard Business Review, this is not always the case. The funds contained within these investments are not the same as capital that’s needed to effect change within the ESG space as they are focused on financial returns. We speak to Dr Renard Siew, Sustainability and Climate Chan...

Malaysia is rated as the cheapest location to hire expats by a recent ECA International survey. What does being the “cheapest” mean and what does it translate to in terms of the talents that are available or unavailable in Malaysia? We speak to Lee Quane, Regional Director of Asia at ECA International. Image Credit: Shutterstock | MarcoVector See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Digital banking has been an important part of the Asian financial system for a while now. The pandemic further spurred its adoption as most of us have started accessing banking services in relative safety behind our mobile phones or computers. With many countries within the region recently issuing licences for digital banks, we discuss the future of digital banking in Asia with Professor Antonio F...

In the post pandemic work environment, the scope for job satisfaction has now widened beyond just wages and company benefits to include work culture and value systems. This is becoming more important as employees tend to gravitate towards organisations that share similar values as they do. We speak to Sheila Singam, managing partner at Human Equation to understand the role of values in an organisa...

Risk decisioning or risk assessment has traditionally been a detail intensive task with someone sifting through information or data to make informed decisions based on the risk profiles. With AI in the picture, things become more interesting as this allows for a large amount of data to be processed with the risk profile generated for review. To get an insight into how AI can benefit the whole proc...

We’re roughly 3 months into the reopening of our borders for travel. Most restrictions have been lifted and international tourists are once again coming into Malaysia in droves. We’ve met the initial goal of 2 million international tourists and the new target is set at 4.5 million. We sat down for a conversation with Hannah Pearson, founder of Pear Anderson and Regional Director at the Adventure T...

As we transition into endemicity, we explore the current job market in Malaysia and how it has changed over the past few years. Are we equipping our younger generation with the right skill sets to enter the modern working environment? We get into how digitalisation and technology has challenged the traditional job market and what key areas we should be focused on going into IR 4.0. To get a cleare...

According to the EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey , employees around the world, including Malaysia, have more influence in the job market. This is driven mostly by demand for better wages, career opportunities, a thinning labour market and more jobs offering flexible work arrangements.    To get a clearer insight into what else we can gathered from the survey, we’ll be speaking to Anil Shi...

Marketing is considered an important aspect of most businesses and a crucial part of the entrepreneurship journey. But how can startups effectively promote themselves? We dive into the marketing strategies new businesses or startups can use to make themselves known in the open market. Joining us to share his thoughts on all this is Sharizal Shaarani, a seasoned entrepreneur with a keen interest in...

It’s not easy navigating how to make friends at work . How close should you be with your co-workers? Too much, and you might feel difficult to say ‘no’ and let your workload pile on. But too little, and you miss out on collaboration and maybe even forming a meaningful relationship between people you spend half of your time with in a week. So should you make friends at work? How do you draw the lin...

In the modern work environment driven by technology, digital upskilling has become more crucial as employees seek to adapt in the new environment while addressing skills gaps that could make them redundant or obsolete. We discuss what digital upskilling means and how MDEC’s MYWiT program aims to help bring more Malaysians into the digital industry.  Apply before 31st August for MYWiT incentiv...