- MaGIC officially kicked off the second cohort of its award-winning Global Accelerator Programme (GAP) on June 19.
- The programme will see 27 handpicked startups from 10 different countries across various industries take part in a four month-long stint filled with mentoring sessions, classroom time, and access to various other learning opportunities including connections with seasoned industry professionals.
- At the launch event, Malaysian Finance Minister YB Lim Guan Eng was on hand alongside MaGIC CEO Ashran Dato’ Ghazi to get the programme underway.
This morning, the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) officially announced the start of the second cohort of its Global Accelerator Program (GAP).
The programme now has 27 startups, selected from a pool of 961 applicants from various industries and 10 countries (including Malaysia). After taking 4 months to build up their entrepreneurial capabilities, they’ll have a demo day pitching their ideas to judges, media and investors.
These startups were shortlisted based on three criteria: the prospect to scale within the ASEAN market, the potential for highly scalable products, and readiness for early stage investment.
Throughout the programme, the participating startups will be given numerous learning opportunities such as weekly check-ins with account managers, classroom modules, and close mentoring sessions with industry leaders such as Managing Director of Teak Capital Chok Kwee Bee, Venture Manager of Tan Chong Group Andre Teow, and CTO of iPrice Group Heinrich Wendel.
Additionally, these startups will also have access to route-to-market partners such as Google, Malaysia Airlines, Maybank, and Media Prima.
They will also be provided with other perks such as a co-working facility, accommodation during the entirety of the programme, and various other financial boons such as Amazon Web Service credit, marketing allowance, and monthly stipends.
At the launch event, Malaysia’s Finance Minister YB Lim Guan Eng was on hand to kick off the programme and congratulate the participating startups. He encouraged them to take on Industry 4.0 by embracing both technological expertise as well as entrepreneurial savvy.
“Technopreneurs are the new platform for dream-makers to make our dreams come true,” he said. “To succeed in creating future and living dreams, we need the 3Ts of Talent, Technology, and Tolerance of new ideas.”
“This new Malaysia cherishes freedom and we hope that the Malaysian dream belongs to everyone willing to dream big and work hard.”
The second cohort of the GAP programme comes after the completion of its highly successful inaugural iteration last year. In its previous form (MAP), it was even listed among the top ten of the world’s most active accelerators according to Gust’s Global Accelerator Report 2016.
The programme also received the honour of being named as the “Best Accelerator Programme” at the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards and Malaysia Rice Bowl Startup Awards just last year. Success stories from the first cohort include brands such as Indian health-tech venture AllizHealth, Malaysian online kiddy activity platform Kidxy, and Bangkok culinary platform Cookly.
“At MaGIC, we believe that a vibrant entrepreneurial hub can best arise out of an ecosystem that is collaborative,” said MaGIC CEO Ashran Dato’ Ghazi at the GAP launch event. “As such, we seek to fill the gaps by offering comprehensive and guided support through our initiatives that are always designed with the startups and their positions in mind.”
“We are very excited to join the participants in embarking on their visions and encourage them to take full advantage of our large pool of mentors and coaches, as well as abundant resources and wide network.”
- For more information about GAP, you can visit their official website.
Feature Image Credit: Faizal Suphakorn on Facebook
