By the end of the year, through efforts by the Malta Communications Authority, Malta will be the first Wi-Fi state in the world, Economy Minister Chris Cardona said today.

Minister Cardona was addressing an event called "Boost your Business" (BYB). Forming part of the Facebook European Roadshow 2017, BYB's objective is to teach small and medium enterprises how to best leverage Facebook's 1.9 billion users and up to 600 million Instagram users for their benefit. BYB was developed in order to help entrepreneurs uncover the business benefits delivered by Facebook tools and advertising strategies directly and in person.

The event was hosted by Facebook and organised by the Ministry for the Economy in collaboration with the Malta Chamber of Commerce.

Minister Cardona said that overcoming the 2008 financial crisis was made possible through "resilient SMEs"

"Businesses have a lot of untapped potential, and this is partly why I know our country has peaked Facebook's interest."

"We are a European leader in fast broadband coverage, and in the quality of egovernment services. Just last week we launched 20 new mobile apps that make government services and information available 24/7."

He explained that 72% of Maltese use social networks to share posts once a week. "55% of us use social media every day to share pictures, articles, videos and movies. This is an impressive figure when compared to the EU average of 37%"

He said that there are many studies which also show room for improvement among Maltese businesses, on how they can take full advantage of digital tools to organise and promote their company, and to gain access to new markets.

He did say however, that Maltese online business presence is poor. "Websites are not up to date, with only 27% featuring prices and a mere 3% listing stock availability."

He said that Maltese SMEs are missing out on a local population that uses the internet each day to purchase items.

An untapped opportunity

"The discrepancy between Maltese businesses and social media users is an untapped opportunity."

"The internet is the biggest cultural shift we have experienced since the industrial revolution."

Businesses cannot still operate in the same way they did five years ago, let alone ten years ago, he said, while stressing that adapting to digital and social media is essential for business survival.

 "Our size is our strength, in that we can adapt to trends in the market quickly, we know our clientele personally and we can see trends taking over."

"Facebook's influence and growth is unmatched with Instagram a close second.

He said that Facebook helping businesses is a documented reality, and not a myth.

Business strategy, he said, must encompass both Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Government, he explained, will continue to implement the national digital strategy, and as part of the Maltese EU Council Presidency will host the Digital Assembly in June."

Chamber of Commerce President Anton Borg said that the development of digital market has changed the way people do business, providing an array of tools, but also disrupting previously established practices.

Mr Borg said that new business models are emerging. "This is not just changing how we communicate our messages, but also the way we live our lives."

He said digitalisation is constantly changing, thus resulting in a constant effort to work to stay ahead of the competition.

"A digital and business strategy are now one and the same," he explained, stressing the need for a high level of coordination between the two.

"The shift to a more digital economy is an empowering moment for entrepreneurs."

"On the other end of the spectrum, it is changing cost structures, opening up new markets and intensifying competition. Large and small organisations need ingenuity to adapt to a large world as geographic boundaries mean little in a digital world."

Mr Borg spoke about consumer privacy, industry development and data sharing. "The digital revolution is taking us into uncharted territory. The rapid pace of innovation demands a rapid approach."

He said that businesses must continue to change, and businesses must look at digitalisation as an opportunity to take businesses to the next level.

Laura Bononcini, Head of Policy for Italy, Greece and Malta at Facebook, said: "there are more than 65 million small and medium businesses around the world that actively use Facebook Pages because they're free, easy to use, and they work well on mobile. Generally business owners discover Facebook for their business because they know how to use it personally: setting up a Page is just as easy as setting up a profile. And Facebook is where their customers already are. We are happy to be here in Malta supporting local entrepreneurs in their effort to boost their business" stated Laura Bononcini, Head of Policy for Italy, Greece and Malta at Facebook.

Photos by Jonathan Borg