(left - right) Eugene Teh, Digi's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer; Albern Murty, Digi Chief Executive Officer; followed by Jason Chia, Principal at 1337 Ventures, Founder of Silvertree Ltd; Sigve Brekke, Telenor Group's President and Chief Executive Officer Launch Gambit; Dr. Dhesi Baha Raja, Founder, Malaysian Medical Gazette; Gwendolyn Reginna Tan, Director of Strategy and Business Development, Asia Pacific at Mashable; and Bikesh L., Founding Partner of 1337 Ventures
In conjunction with Digi Accelerate launchpad for local startups, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) has introduced a new first incubator programme – the Digi Incub8. Digi Incub8 is a programme designed to reinforce, develop and support Malaysia's startup system, and focuses on nurturing ideas and young startup businesses in the East Malaysia region, providing an accessible platform for entrepreneurs.
“There is a vast untapped entrepreneurial potential in Sabah and Sarawak. With the local startup scene very much converged in the peninsular, Digi Incub8 seeks to provide equal opportunities for East Malaysians to venture into the startup fray. Every entrepreneur needs a little help at startup, and incubators like ours will help nurture early-stage startups until they are big enough to leave the nest and make it on their own. It also means we are bale to build a richer, more inclusive startup ecosystem in Malaysia with ideas and talent emerging from all across the country.”
“Startups have been impetus for disruption in every industry imaginable including the telco sphere. They are a big influence on Malaysia's digital makeover and how our customers will use the internet in the future. As we become more of a digital company, it is apt that we continue working with startups to drive the digital evolution, creating products and solution that will complement or revamp our customers; digital lifestyles.” said Praveen.
Sigve Breekke, Telenor's President and Chief Executive Officer said, “Malaysia has a strong, emerging startup ecosystem that shows great potential in becoming a digital innovation hub in the region. I believe that big companies like Telenor combined with startups equate accelerated innovation, which is why are engaging with entrepreneurs and startups across Asia. Malaysia has already seen the emergence of its first unicorn, and as the number of startups continues to explode I hope to see more unicorns arise in the near futures.”
There are two phases in the Digi Incub8, first phase is where individuals will undergo a three-day workshop to learn the basics of ideating and creating business worthy ideas. Basically, the workshop is designed for individuals who are interested in starting a business but have yet to formulate a business idea.
(left to right) Jason Chia, Sigve Brekke, Dr. Dhesi Baha Raja and Gwendolyn Regina Tan sharing their entrepreneurship experience and knowledge
The second phase, is then when the startup incubator starts for aspiring entrepreneur teams and they will undergo a 6-day bootcamp to validate their ideas, learn product development, business basics and go-to-market strategies. The bootcamp culminates in a demo day where up to 3 winning teams are awarded up to RM25000 funding up start up their businesses. So to say, it's to train new entrepreneurs on how to start up a business but unsure of how to take it forward.
Digi Incub8 is in partnership with 1337 Ventures and its Alpha Startups programme, a household name within the community for scaling companies from ideas into successful business ventures. It will be hosted in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and it's open for registration now at www.digi.com.my/incub8.
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