MALAYSIA – 13 January 2021 – Into a new year, the Covid 19 pandemic continues to impact lives globally – from the way we connect, live, work to affecting health, careers and livelihoods.
In recent media reports, economists warn that Malaysia’s unemployment rate may be much higher and aggravated by the pandemic, citing that statistically, Malaysia has a 5% unemployment rate, but economically, the country has a 30% unemployment rate (as our labour participation is below 70%).
A study by market research agency YouGov polled 665 full-time workers revealed up to 92% of employed Malaysians are experiencing stress over losing their jobs. The survey indicated that 7 in 10 believe it will be hard to find another job in the face of unemployment.
When asked about the possibility of losing their job tomorrow, 71% believe it will be “difficult” to find another one with a similar pay and attendant benefits, 40% think it will be “somewhat difficult”, and 31% think it will be “very difficult”.
For businessmen and retail owners, the situation looks grim. Traditional bricks & mortar entities and chain store models are crumbling. From big industry players to SOHO communities, everyone hankers new business notions which require little investment and provide quick & smart solutions to earn passive income or a job to sustain livelihood.
More are resorting to online platforms to earn income. With a majority of Malaysians having at least one or more social media platforms, according to Statista’s findings in January this year, about 81% Malaysian population are active social media users. This was about a 1/3 increase compared to 2016, in which the social media users amounted to approximately 60% of the total population in Malaysia. Many are looking for opportunities to supplement their income by embarking on e-commerce business avenues, especially for millennials and KOLs who are savvy to smart phones and apps to socialise and in current times, make a living.
In view of this, enters MeCan Trade — the 1st ‘Social Commerce” platform in Malaysia, a brainchild of Mr Andy Goh (former founder of OldTown and current owner of Nam Heong restaurant chains). Andy explained that e-commerce has taken the world by storm, especially during the pandemic. “From a business perspective, traditional ways of doing business have become harder – involving competition, product quality, logistic arrangements and sustainability. There is a paradigm shift using technology & big data efficiency to rebuild and transform suffering business owners through this difficult period,” said Goh.
Costing RM30 million to set up the intrinsic digital infrastructure, MeCan Trade literally means “#EveryoneCanTrade”. “The core value for MeCan Trade is to share the wonders of what technology can do to improve, accelerate and re-invent new business ideas. We already have all the resources in place, we just have to collaborate and execute,” he added.
With creativity, competitiveness and technology combined, Goh believes that local entrepreneurship can go beyond conventional borders. MeCan Trade leverages on a robust network of trusted affiliates and ambassadors to reduce operational, logistics and marketing costs. No start-up capital or inventory stocking are required — members only need to establish their own e-stores to select a wide variety of original products on MeCan Trade provided directly by the Manufacturers or Authorized distributors themselves.
MeCan Trade offers opportunities in three main categories – sellers (manufacturers or brand owners), buyers and ambassadors.
Sellers/Brand Owners : Sellers now have a platform to perform business recovery, consolidate enough data, tools and resources put together to start a business instantly, without being burdened by hefty expenses. The seller’s role is pretty straight-forward; list with MeCan Trade and use the system that allows full transparency, product price control, marketing tools and access to over 1000 fleet of sales force to sell your products.
Buyers – Bulk buying options by tiers, where MeCan Trade will connect these interested buyers to reliable, safe and trustworthy manufacturers.
Ambassadors – A MeCan Trade ambassador can earn passive income and become an entrepreneur by directly engaging with the source of the product.
MeCan Trade enables you to have your very own business by providing you your very own personalized e-store instantly with just a few clicks, for absolutely free. You will be able to offer a wide variety of original products directly from product owners. Simply, share your selected products on social media to your network or friends to earn from the local & international arena. It has no risk, no capital, 100% genuine and unique products with instant set-up which is completely free for life. All the provision of stocks/products, inventory/payment gateway, back-end logistics, delivery system etc from A to Z will be taken care of by MeCan Trade for the Ambassadors.
Despite going live for almost a year, MeCan Trade currently supports over 200 brand owners and manufacturers with over 2,000 products available with more than 1,000 ambassadors and counting.
“By the end of next year, we hope to achieve over 5,000 ambassadors and more than 20,000 products on the platform.”
Recently, MeCan Trade launched a 2 year #MeCanBoss Program with a total investment valued up to RM15.75 mill to nurture social commerce entrepreneurs. “We provide a journey to aspiring local entrepreneurs in generating a self-sustainable income or passive income by trading online with credible, in-demand product from Manufacturers or Authorized Distributors. Business owners or individuals that are interested to come and list their reputable products or join this campaign can sign up at MeCan Trade on our official platform.,” enthused Goh.
