29 August 2025

Helping Small Biz Win Big!

Koh Lily, 2016 Merdeka Award Grant Recipient


(Photo source: Giphy)

How do you help small businesses compete in a high-tech world? 

For UTM researcher Koh Lily, the answer lies beyond just adopting fancy tools. Her work zooms in on how SMEs can explores how automation, Internet of Things (IoT), and data-driven strategies can boost SME performance. 

Her mission? Making digital transformation realistic and accessible for the 80% of SMEs driving Malaysia’s economy. For her, it’s not just about tech, it’s about empowering people and businesses to unlock their full potential.

Koh Lily received the Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment in (2016) to Harvard Business School, (US).



Health, Science and Technology
Dato' Professor Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Recipient for Year 2022
Something that is worth doing is often tough, but the rewards can be big.

Koh Lily is a postgraduate of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)



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