SHAH ALAM, 11 APRIL 2022 – Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Lazada Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) marking the launch of Lazada4Youth, a strategic partnership that aspires to be the driving force in youth empowerment by nurturing interests and encouraging stronger participation in digital commerce. Lazada4Youth involves a series of workshop for aspiring digital entrepreneurs, with the added bonus to be onboard as new sellers or digital marketing affiliates.
The signing ceremony took place on 11 April 2022 at UiTM Puncak Alam Campus between UiTM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr Hajah Roziah Mohd Janor and Mr Cheang Kiat Cheong, Chief Financial Officer of Lazada Malaysia, in the presence of Dato’ Seri Abdul Razak Jaafar, Secretary General, Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).
In his speech to launch Lazada4Youth, Dato’ Seri Abdul Razak said, “The successful implementation of this programme will provide good exposure and add valuable experience for university students to build career opportunities with leading industry players such as Lazada in the future.” He added that this is in line with the “Entrepreneurship-Integrated-Education (EIE)” introduced by MOHE, which focuses on forming a synergistic and holistic entrepreneurial ecosystem, while creating highimpact entrepreneurship involving various strategic partners that emphasise innovation and technology-based entrepreneurship.
According to Prof. Datuk Roziah, as a talent provider to stimulate stronger digital entrepreneurship capabilities, the university is consistently seeking ways to provide a better platform to nurture and reinvigorate talents. Lazada4Youth will set a new benchmark for UiTM as a catalyst to stimulate capacity building among students and nurture future-ready leaders.
In addition, Mr Cheang stated that Lazada4Youth strives to assist in bridging the digital divide by providing young entrepreneurs with the skills that they need to kickstart and grow their businesses, as well as encouraging them to share their newly acquired knowledge with the community. With Lazada, young entrepreneurs will discover more ways to build a more inclusive and sustainable model for their own businesses, while championing the growth of the local digital economy.
Upon completion of the Lazada4Youth workshop, participating students who are ready and able to sell their products online can get onboard the Lazada platform under the ‘Hari-Harimau New Seller Kickstarter Package 2022’, with zero commission fee on top of other benefits, including 2% payment fee waiver and free RM150 ad credits. A dedicated team of experts will also guide the aspiring digital entrepreneurs to ensure a steady induction, especially during the first three months with Lazada. Alternatively, they can opt to sign up for the Affiliate Marketing Programme which enables them to earn side income by optimising on their social media
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, youth unemployment reached an alarming percentage of 12.5% in 2020, an increase from 10.5% in 2019. The number of unemployed Malaysians, including graduates with tertiary-level qualifications were rising by 22.5% in just one year to over 200,000 in 2020. With Malaysia’s eCommerce income soaring upwards by 23.3% year-on-year to RM267.6 million, Lazada4Youth is designed to equip local youth with hands-on digital skills to optimise potential sources of income within the scope of eCommerce.
In the future, Lazada4Youth will continue to be developed and rolled out across the country, reaching out to students in other UiTM campuses in the Southern and Northern regions, as well as East Malaysia, followed by engagement with other local universities in Malaysia.