Category: Articles

An Opportunity not to be missed

If there is one sure word that yields business, it is digital. Maltese businesses have only started barely scraping the surface and the untapped potential continues growing exponentially. Business are becoming more digital both for efficiency and cost, and it is well know that those businesses who do not embrace some digital transformation will become less competitive and will lose more market. But to achieve this a business needs to upskill its employees with digital skills and knowledge, and this is crucial.

Why should a business be bothered about digital skills?

The key to unlocking the digital opportunities lies in having the right skills and this is where the eSkills Malta Foundation can help businesses step up their game. What the eSkills Malta Foundation offers is completely accessible and entirely FREE of CHARGE.

Having a well-functioning eCommerce site is today a basic requirement and, to continue succeeding, businesses need much more than this today. The Maltese economy is moving towards digitalisation and will become increasingly dependent on digitalisation like never before.

A number of grants and funding opportunities are already available for businesses that take on the decision to invest. These will be increasing significantly within the coming months.

The starting point is always however developing the businesses’ capacity in terms of eSkills to be able to generate digital opportunities and identify what comes next.

Who is the eSkills Malta Foundation?

The eSkills Malta Foundation is a National Coalition made up of various representatives from Government, industry and education, who came together to contribute to the increase in digital skills and the development of the IT profession in Malta.

The Foundation in fact offers a wide variety of courses and gives access to digital skills, which can meet anybody’s need and address the full spectrum of the digital skills gap.

Amongst which, the eSkills Malta Foundation offers the following courses which are intended for businesses.

– Business Digital enablement for Business Owners

This course, developed by Ernst & Young Ltd, starts in September 2021 and targets Business Executives and Leaders.

The aim is to give exposure of the emerging technologies of Cloud, Workplace Modernisation, Effective project delivery, Using and Analysing Data as well as Process Automation.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link. 

– Online Digital Transformation Course

Developed by PWC, this course consists of 3 eLearning Tutorials which can be taken separately or all together should one wish.

Course content includes the subject of eCommerce comprehensively starting from a transformation point of view to online rules and effective team collaboration.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link.

– Elements of Artificial Intelligence

A course created by Reaktor and the University of Helsinki and seeks to answer the questions of what AI is and isn’t, how it can be applied to real-life applications, and what the implications of this technology are for companies.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link.

– Amazon Cloud Courses

This presents a golden opportunity to equip yourself with the tech certifications which have been declared the world’s most in-demand for three consecutive years. It’s first-come, first-served for individuals based in the Maltese islands.

Courses are separately available for technical and non-technical users and is sponsored by Melita Foundation. Last year this was a success and eSkills Malta Foundation are in the process of doing a repeat this year.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link.

– eSkills Digital Bootcamp 2021

The Foundation offers other various courses that you may find useful to you and your employees. Have a look at the following link.

How can you get in touch for further details?

The eSkills Malta Foundation can be contacted either by phone on (356) 21 234 710 or by email on

Employer bodies insisted for more funding to be allocated to the private sector out of the RRF

Malta Chamber of SMEs participated in discussions with the Prime Minister and Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Dr Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, together with other social partners – employer representatives.

Employer bodies insisted for more funding to be allocated to the private sector out of the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF). Businesses must play a bigger role in the reforms towards greater resilience and need the funds to sustain their recovery following the Covid ordeal.

The plan issued by Government as to the use of RRF grants sets out six key strategic objectives.

The first is a set of projects to address climate neutrality through enhanced energy efficiency, clean energy, and a circular economy. Related to this, the second objective is to address carbon-neutrality by decarbonising transport.

Then the plan includes a strand of initiatives to foster a digital, smart, and resilient economy. The fourth objective is to strengthen the resilience of the health system. To facilitate the transformation of the economy and enable the digital and green revolutions of the coming decades, the plan then envisages measures that will enhance quality education and foster socio-economic sustainability. Finally, the sixth pillar of the plan is a renewed focus to strengthen our country’s institutional framework.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs signed a collaborative agreement  with MCAST for the introduction of a new Professional Research Doctorate (DRes) at the College. This programme of studies is the first of its kind provided at MCAST. The doctorate is a research-based EQF/MQF Level 8 qualification and focuses on the competitive behaviour of small organisations within small island states.

The announcement was made today during the signing of a collaborative agreement with the Malta Chamber of SMEs.

Statistics developed by the National Statistics Office (NSO) have identified around 30,000 small firms operational in Malta. According to the NSO, these small organisations are responsible for more than 65% of employment in Malta. The NSO’s findings highlight the importance of conducting research aimed to help small organisations grow and thrive.

Mr Paul Abela, President of the Malta Chamber of SMEs and Ms Abigail Mamo, CEO of the Malta Chamber of SMEs said, “MCAST is a very important pillar in our education system, and it is also an entity with whom we share many common goals related to how education should contribute to Malta’s economic development. Therefore, the Malta Chamber of SMEs is very pleased to be sharing another opportunity to strengthen our joint collaboration. This is one of a number of initiatives the Malta Chamber of SMEs is working on, with the ultimate objective of elevating the knowledge and competences of SMEs in Malta while encouraging small businesses not to lag and to spear ahead with their own research projects.”

Professor Joachim James Calleja, MCAST’s Principal and CEO, said, “The launch of this level 8 programme is the result of years of research and preparation. Our collaboration with industry goes beyond course provision, and not everyone might be aware of the diverse work going on at the College. Our research work aims to provide data and information, which will help industry to make evidence-based decisions. We are confident that the collaboration Malta Chamber of SMEs and the Richmond Foundation will be beneficial to the researchers and also to the growth of SMEs.”

Deputy Principal for Research and Innovation, Dr Ing. Alex Rizzo, said “through the application of mixed research methods, the course aims to unearth much-needed information on the behaviour of small organisations. Driven by grounded research, data obtained will help professionals comprehend better the complex decision making processes and behaviours within small organisations. In turn, potential findings will help researchers understand which best-practise models should be adopted by business-oriented small firms and other small organisations.”

Aimed toward Masters’ Degree holders, this DRes will run over 5-years on a part-time basis. Students must follow 4 taught modules related to advanced Research Methods MCAST Main Campus, Corradino Street, Paola PLA9032, Malta +356 2398 7100 | mcast.edu.mt during their first year.

After completion, successful candidates will progress to the main component of the DRes, namely, the research endeavour. Students must also publish three academic, rigorously researched articles.

A project by the Malta Chamber of SMEs and the Government

Some years ago the SME Chamber and the Government embarked on a project in the area of energy efficient by generating solar energy through the creation of two PV farms in Gozo that will generate enough electricity to cater for around 500 families per year.

The farms will generate two million kWh per year. The farms, at Ta’ Ċenċ, are being developed by the joint venture, Malta Energy on Water Services Corporation (WSC) reservoirs. They cover an area of 9,360m², with 2,871 panels.

Malta Energy Ltd, is a joint venture between the WSC (51 per cent shareholding) and the Malta Chamber of SMEs (49 per cent shareholding).

These projects are part of this government’s vision to continue to incentivise renewable energy in our country”, Dalli said.

She said the government will continue to incentivise entities to keep producing clean energy, which will contribute to more sustainable economic growth and allow Malta’s targets to be achieved by everyone.

WSC CEO Ivan Falzon said the corporation will continue working on projects of added value, where this will result in generating more clean and renewable energy.

Malta Energy CEO Noel Gauci said the venture will, in future, also be able to invite families who do not have space to install panels to buy a portion of future projects.

Malta Energy plans to expand its operations to areas outside of the Water Services Corporation’s facilities, which are owned by other government entities, and can provide more value to the entity hosting the installations.

The panels can offer shelter, electric vehicle charging, and other infrastructure utilities.

The Malta Embassy in Abu Dhabi will be organising a Malta Day event scheduled on the 20th of September 2021.  The event will be held in Abu Dhabi and the Maltese Embassy is currently seeking partners to participate in this event.

This event will be exclusive for those participating and the Maltese Embassy aims to offer total exclusivity for those willing to contribute towards this event, either financially or in kind.

From the feedback gathered, a good number of Emirati entities have made contact with the Maltese Embassy, seeking a more pro-active platform with Maltese businesses with a number of businesses interested in partnerships with local businesses. Although all sectors can be considered, as a guidance, the below sectors have been identified as possible collaborations:

Fintech 

Educational Institutions

Agri technology 

Event Planning 

Marketing, Branding & Designs  

Set-up and Events 

 This is just an indication and other sector interests are welcome.

Those willing to participate will be given the below exposure during this event, particularly:

1. Exclusive opportunity to network with counterparts in Abu Dhabi and hold one to one meetings

2. The Embassy will offer you two invitations for senior executive members of your entity plus a number of invitations to disturb to your counterparts whom you would consider important to meet.
   

3. The logo of your entity will feature on the photo backdrop at the event.

4. The logo of your entity will also feature on the invitation for the Malta Day.

5. You and your entity will be thanked publicly during the Ambassador’s speech.

6. If you wish, your entity’s brochures/merchandise (which fit in the palm of a hand) can be include in the Gift Bags which we will distribute to guests.

7. You and your entity will be thanked on the Embassy’s and the Ambassador’s social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

During the event The Embassy will be inviting A-list composed of UAE dignitaries; members of the diplomatic corps; key contacts in the UAE government, society, media and academia; other Maltese stakeholders in the UAE; Maltese businesses and local businesses; and members of the Maltese diaspora in the UAE, among others.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs is also in contact with Trade Malta in order to identify possible funding opportunities to fund travel and accommodation expenses.

Interested Parties are to get in touch with Andrew Aquilina by email on  listing the respective sector and contact details.

A 2 hour Q & A online session

On Wednesday 19th May, the Malta Chamber of SMEs hosted a Webinar for its members about the latest business schemes, aimed at mitigating the negative economic effects on Maltese businesses.

The Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Hon. Miriam Dalli addressed the participants and thanked the Malta Chamber of SMEs throughout the process of planning the new business support schemes.

During this webinar, participants had the opportunity to ask questions to our high level speakers, including Malta Enterprise CEO Mr Kurt Farrugia and Mr Steve Ellul, Advisor within the Ministry for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development.