BY JOTISRI VASUDEVAN
CYBERJAYA: MYStartup NXT, a vibrant series of micro-conferences took off on May 9. It was launched by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) through one of its agencies, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd (Cradle), in keeping with Malaysia MADANI’s aspirations – to create an innovative and high-tech nation.
To create an inclusive, impactful, and sustainable startup ecosystem in Malaysia, MY Startup NXT was launched with a soaring mission to create over 5,000 quality startups by 2030.
The launch was conducted using a unique approach which was in the metaverse with the virtual space designed by ecosystem partner Digital News Asia (DNA).
With Kuala Lumpur already ranked among the Top 25 Emerging Ecosystems globally, MYStartup NXT will be expanded across the nation starting from Cyberjaya followed by Sarawak, Penang, and culminating in Sabah to maximise the potential of other parts of Malaysia.
The MOSTI stated in a statement that the micro-conferences aimed to involve local startups throughout Malaysia, enabling access to the startup ecosystem support and benefits that will empower them to scale up to the next level.
“MY Startup NXT is part of the Government’s effort to cultivate accessible innovation and support long-term startup development, in line with Malaysia MADANI’s aspirations,” said Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Chang Lih Kang in a statement.
Chang also noted: “People tend to think that science, technology, and innovation are things for the intellectual and wealthy people without knowing that innovative technology is in our daily life. I hope Malaysia will become more informed about this. At the same time, I hope that our startup ecosystem will be more complete and the startup community will see opportunities in Malaysia not just in terms of funding but also a chance to advance their knowledge through platforms like MYStartup.”
Taking a cue from the micro-conferences, he said: “MyStartup will become a movement, for Malaysia today, and for Asia tomorrow, hence the conference’s tagline is ‘Empowering The ASEAN Startup Ecosystem.”
The MYStartup Annual Report was released at the event which details the organisation’s key achievements and a comprehensive overview of the outcome and impact delivered to the startup ecosystem and community in its first year.
“The launch of the annual report will assist the government to realise these aspirations through high-impact programmes,” added Chang.
According to the report, nearly 60,000 visitors worldwide had accessed the official portal of MYStartup, and over 2,000 startups have been onboarded to show interest in learning more about the platform and benefits as a result of the conducted bespoke programmes such as MYStartup Roadshow, MYHackathon, MYStartup Pre-Accelerator, MYStartup Mentorship and so on.
Meanwhile, a new digital platform called MYStartup Dev has been introduced at the event specifically to connect talent in the digital technology sector with the startup ecosystem community.
The Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Development at Cradle Ahmad Kashfi Alwi said in a statement: “MYStartup NXT will develop the country’s startup ecosystem equally. Whether from the Klang Valley, Northern or Southern region, East Coast or even East Malaysia, they do not miss out on receiving benefits from programmes organised by MYStartup.”
In order to see all local startups flourish and scale up to a competitive level, he opined, “MOSTI through Cradle confirms the commitment to create an ever-sustainable ecosystem that is inclusive.”
“The ultimate aim is to rank Malaysia among the Top 20 Global Startup Ecosystems by 2030,” he said, in addition to producing 5,000 high-quality startups with 10,000 coders by 2030, and five unicorns in the upcoming years.
According to Ahmad Kashfi, MyStartup NXT has partnered with Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd, Cyberview Sdn Bhd, Air Asia Academy Sdn Bhd, and Petronas Bhd to nurture and invest in Malaysia’s startup ecosystem through the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the event.
