Photo shows a group photo of Strategic and Industrial partners at the launch of iPay88 Academy. iPay88 Academy is set up to directly support the most fundamental objective of the National Strategic eCommerce Roadmap.
KUALA LUMPUR: iPay88 Holding Sdn Bhd (iPay88), an NTT Data company and a leading Malaysian-based provider of online payment solutions in Asean, has launched its first ever ‘iPay88 Academy’ for the public, in Malaysia.
‘iPay88 Academy’ comprises a systematic series with three level of courses (Beginner, Intermediate & Advance), that anyone can sign up for free, to gain knowledge and skills in eCommerce operations.
In a statement, Ipay88 founder and executive director Chan Kok Long said the iPay88 Academy is set up to directly support the most fundamental objective of the National Strategic eCommerce Roadmap – which is to accelerate seller adoption of eCommerce in Malaysia.
Chan added “The tipping point for eCommerce to move to the next level of adoption in this country relies heavily on individuals and businesses going online. Therefore, iPay88 wants to step up to the plate and do our part in driving this move to eCommerce.”
Commending the initiative by iPay88, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief operating officer Datuk Ng Wan Peng, said: “In the digital arena, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can no longer delay establishing their presence in eCommerce with the goal of exporting their products and services across borders.
“SMEs must quickly step up and align themselves to the opportunities that are abound in a digitalised world and make a significant presence in the global market.”
“eCommerce is no longer a ‘new’ way of doing business: ‘eBusiness’ is rapidly becoming the order the day,” she added.
“This move to establish the iPay88 Academy is another significant testament to industry-government-academia collaboration – as a key catalyst to boosting our digital economy.”
The iPay88 Academy is carefully structured to be a one-stop resource center to guide individuals or SMEs to adopt eCommerce smoothly and speedily.
“The target group of the Academy is basically anyone who wishes to start any online business. There are many willing merchants and sellers; however, they are struggling to embrace the digital economy, due to various factors.
“Therefore, our instructor-led Academy programmes are carefully planned out to share the tricks of going online quickly while avoiding the common pitfalls (of failure),” said Chan.
So far, the iPay88 Academy has run a pilot course successfully from May 22 to August 1, 2018 with 56 participants. iPay88 Academy has lined-up five courses under eCommerce series this year and would add more courses under new series of e-Payment, Digital Marketing and Cross Border next year.
The first official course is expected to commence effectively on September 19, 2018.
Chan added that it is important to note that iPay88 Academy is brand-agnostic.
“We work with various eCommerce experts namely Shopping Cart brands such as SiteGiant, EasyStore and Webshaper; Logistics providers such as EasyParcel, TresGo and Aramex; and Dropshipping Provider such as Kumoten to deliver the course.”
On its outlook, iPay88 said it is looking to work with selected local universities to incorporate the syllabus of its ‘iPay88 Academy’ into the coursework of the academic institutions.
It explained that this was to help address the long-standing issue of universities producing graduates who lack practical skills related to online businesses.
iPay88 is currently initiating discussions with several universities, to customize the ‘iPay88 Academic’ syllabus as the ‘real industry practice’ part of the universities’ select academic coursework.
“Many students now merely graduated with theoretical knowledge when they pursue their diploma or degree in eCommerce-related courses. Hence, they face difficulties applying the knowledge in real life.
“We believe that by providing such Certification, the local academic market will be able to supply more comprehensive, eCommerce-enabled graduates who can set up online businesses from scratch – from planning a business to creating the business and ultimately growing the business.”
For this certification partnership, iPay88 targets to confirm partnerships with three local academic institutions by mid of 2019.