For a small business owner in Penang trying to win customers online, the hard part is usually knowing where to start. CelcomDigi is betting that a free, hands-on session can help, and its MY5G SME Digital Workshop is back in the Northern region this week for its fourth year.
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Dinesh Raj chevron_right
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What the CelcomDigi SME Digital Workshop covers
The programme has worked with more than 3,000 local entrepreneurs so far, and the 2026 series runs across 14 locations nationwide. The Northern leg opened in Penang with more than 300 small and medium enterprises taking part. Registration and the full schedule are on CelcomDigi Business' events page.
Sessions are split by where a business is in its journey. Early-stage owners focus on building a credible digital presence, while more established firms look at technology they can fold into daily operations without a costly overhaul. The recurring themes are practical: reaching new customers, managing cash flow, creating content, and using social commerce to sell.
The partners, and why the mix matters
CelcomDigi is not running this alone. Programme partners include Funding Societies Malaysia, Swipey, CTOS Data Systems, CardUp, MARA, SME Bank, Bank Pembangunan Malaysia, SME Corp, SAMENTA, Digital Penang, Onsmo, and TikTok Shop Malaysia. That spread across financing, credit data, payments and e-commerce mirrors the gaps SMEs tend to hit as they grow. CelcomDigi has been active in the SME and consumer-finance space elsewhere too, recently teaming up with SPayLater for zero-interest phone instalments.
From a three-wheel cart to 13 outlets
One returning participant is Dapur Bakar Ayam Goreng Kunyit, run by Noor Shamsiah Mohd Farouk Marican and her husband Mohd Hasnizam Abu Bakar. They started in Penang with a three-wheel cart and now run 13 outlets nationwide, and they credit last year's workshop with practical ideas around content and social commerce. "It helped us see how digital tools can solve a real challenge for our business, rather than simply being another technology to adopt," they said.
Alongside the classroom sessions, the programme ran market visits under Skuad 5G Edisi SME, including stops at Pasar Awam Bagan Ajam and Pasar Awam Sri Muda in Penang. Those visits reached more than 110 business owners, and the aim was to hear day-to-day problems rather than pitch from a stage.
Why it matters for Malaysian SMEs
"SMEs do not need digitalisation to be complicated," said T Kugan, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at CelcomDigi. "They need solutions that address challenges such as reaching new customers, managing cash flow or creating content." For a segment that makes up the bulk of Malaysian businesses, free and locally run training is a low-risk way to test whether a digital tool earns its place. The cost of getting online is often as much about know-how as the technology itself, a point that runs through our look at what Malaysia's digital rules really cost its startups.
The Northern leg is one stop on a nationwide run, so SMEs elsewhere still have sessions ahead. Owners who want in can register their interest through the CelcomDigi Business events page.
