[This is a sponsored article with MDEC.]
MDEC is no stranger when it comes to organising various programmes for startups and entrepreneurs.
They have been at the forefront of several successful programmes, including Founders Grindstone, Malaysia Digital Hub, and Malaysia Tech Entrepreneur Programme, just to name a few.
For this year, MDEC has revealed a new programme called IdeaKita that focuses on helping new entrepreneurs ideate solutions to address current challenges and help increase contribution from the digital economy.
Here’s what it entails.
What can MDEC’s IdeaKita do for entrepreneurs?
Since this IdeaKita programme will focus mostly on coming up with tech solutions, the programme is supporting the development of new technologies under MDEC’s Malaysia Digital 9 key promoted sectors:
- Digital Trade
- Digital Agriculture
- Digital Services
- Digital Cities
- Digital Health
- Digital Finance
- Digital Content
- Digital Tourism
- Islamic Digital Economy
Who will this programme be suitable for?
IdeaKita is open to individuals ranging from experienced founders and serial entrepreneurs who are looking to validate new business ideas.
But that’s not all, it’s also open to new graduates and entrepreneurs who have fresh ideas but need guidance on how to start a tech business.
Programmers and tech developers are welcome to join, too, as they can lend their expertise in software and tech development, a skill set that’s crucial in today’s digital economy.
Both Malaysians and non-Malaysians who are keen on starting a tech business in Malaysia can join for free, as long as they plan to set up their business in Malaysia. However, MDEC does advise that all participants join as a team of two (minimum), or more.
As for those that are staying outside of the Klang Valley, IdeaKita partners like Digital Penang, EduCity Iskandar Johor, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), TEGAS Digital Village Sarawak, and GA Space Sabah will provide venue support for those residing in these locations.
On top of that, they’ll also provide local mentors to guide participants throughout the programme.
How is the programme structured?
The programme will have two tracks that will span around 10 days throughout the month of October, 2022.
This gives entrepreneurs ample time to work on their ideas with the various workshops available, which include identifying your customer, learning the anatomy of a pitch deck, getting familiar with the art of presentation, and more.
Participants can choose between two different tracks, A, or B, which have their respective start and end dates.
Track A starts from October 3 until October 17, 2022 that’s suitable for those that want to start a tech company, but don’t have a business idea yet. Here, MDEC will guide you on the development of your idea, and how you can bring it to fruition.
If you still want to try your hand at coming up with an idea before joining the programme, MDEC has also provided various industry-validated problem statements that might interest you.
Some examples are:
- Payments: Users are required to bring several cards with them, which is inconvenient and even costly to the issuing company. Design a solution to ease access to accounts for payments without needing to carry physical cards, or one that minimises the number of cards carried.
- Banking: How can we leverage intelligent solutions like advanced analytics, machine learning, computer vision, and AI to improve the experience of banking customers (consumers and businesses)?
- Agritech: How may we develop a system for crops on monitoring moisture, controlling irrigation, improving efficiency and productivity? Crops may include fruits such as durian, sugarcane, cassava, coconut, melon, mangosteen, etc.
As for Track B, it will run from October 17 until October 31, 2022, where it will help those who already have an idea in mind but need help fleshing it out further.
What’s next after completing the programme?
Once participants have completed the programme, the support from MDEC doesn’t stop there. All participants will have the opportunity to participate in MDEC’s long-standing programmes that have successfully helped many tech startups previously. These initiatives include:
- Malaysia Digital Hub;
- Malaysia Tech Entrepreneur Programme;
- MDEC Innovation Exchange (MIX);
- Proof Of Concept (POC) acceleration;
- Funding facilitation;
- Accelerators, Pre-Accelerators, and Hackathons.
If you’re keen to participate in this programme, you can sign up on the IdeaKita registration form before September 25, 2022. To know more about it, head over to MDEC’s IdeaKita landing page.
- Learn more about MDEC’s Malaysia Digital here.
Featured Image Credit: MDEC
