Head's Up: News, Announcements & Events
Welcome back to an all-new Head’s Up. There will be no special features today but fret not, we are working on a series of articles to share very soon. But in the meantime, we would love to hear on what you think we should feature. Our focus areas are mainly in the startup, SME, social enterprise and entrepreneurial ecosystem so if there’s any issues that you think we should explore, feel free to comment below!
Here are also some news and announcements that you would not want to miss! Till our next issue, stay safe and stay healthy!
News & Announcements
Accelerate Global will be organising a Focus Group at Inspire Co-Working Space, Jalan Robertson to gain your perspective on digital learning and e-learning platforms. For those interested, do fill in the form available here . Registrations close by the 25th!
There will be 4 Focus Group Discussion sessions that you can choose from. Each session should last no longer than two hours.
BlueDuck And Kapitani emerges as Cohort 1 winners at the first-ever FWD Start-up Studio Alpha Startups™ Pre-Accelerator Programme
FWD Insurance (FWD), together with 1337 Ventures, has selected 2 Malaysian start-ups to receive RM150,000 of seed funding for their innovative solutions. BlueDuck and Kapitani has emerged as Cohort 1 winners at the first-ever FWD Start-up Studio Alpha Startups™ Pre-Accelerator Programme.
FWD and 1337 Ventures are now gearing up for its third cohort of Alpha Startups for Insurtech pre-accelerator programme. Applications are now open, cohort 3 will begin in April. To find out more about programmes and events for start-up founders, please visit www.fwdstartupstudio.com/pre-accelerator.
For further reading, click here
1337 Ventures Launches New RM1.2 Million Fund For Malaysian Startups
1337 Ventures announced a new RM1.2 million, 1337 Accelerator Fund I to invest into promising early-stage Malaysian startups.
The new fund is open to seed-stage startups across any industry, from fintech, edtech to healthtech. It will be co-funded by seasoned angel investor and venture capitalist, Asgari Stephens and former COO of JobStreet.com, Suresh Thiru together with 1337 Ventures.
For further reading, click here
Japanese AI edutech startup Toy Eight joins InvestKL GKL Live Lab programme
InvestKL, the leading investment promotion agency for the capital city, announced the joining of Japanese artificial intelligence (AI)-backed edutech startup Toybox Creations and Technology (Toy Eight) to the Greater Kuala Lumpur (GKL) Live Lab programme.
Launched in April 2021, GKL Live Lab is to position Greater KL as an innovation and ideation smart city, acting as a testbed where foreign companies experimenting with new and disruptive ways to solve the most challenging problems in the world today can bring their ideas to life while collaborating with local players.
For further reading, click here
Fintech company, Swipey Aims To Build Customer-Centric Digital Banking Services For SEA SMEs
Homegrown fintech company Swipey Digital Services Sdn Bhd ( Swipey ), which aims to build customer-centric digital banking services for Southeast Asia’s underserved modern small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has emerged among the Top 10 in the Alpha Startups accelerator programme.
The win means Swipey will be participating in the final pitch session at Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)’s flagship fintech event MyFintech Week, from 24 to 28 January.
In line with MyFintech Week 2022’s theme of Advancing Digitalisation for Recovery, Sustainability and Inclusion, this year’s Alpha Startups programme focuses on unearthing startups with the potential to disrupt the financial services scene and digitalise financial solutions for individuals and SMEs.
For more information, click here
Sunway and SDSN Malaysia To Provide Funding Worth RM100,000 For Sustainable Solutions
Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Malaysia, in partnership with the All-Party Parliamentary Group of Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG), will be hosting the National Solutions Forum 2022 (NSF) in April to showcase the most impactful solutions to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-related challenges in Malaysia.
Sunway will fund shortlisted solutions with RM10,000 each to scale its impact. The best solution initiative will be awarded a further RM10,000.
Proposal submissions are open until 11 February 2022. To register or for more information, visit sdsn.org.my/nsf2022.
SUKE TV Secures Funding From Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad
Homegrown broadcast network SUKE TV continues to make history as the date of its live broadcast date draws near, with the announcement that it has secured funding from Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad (MDV), a subsidiary of the Minister of Finance (Incorporated) [MOF (Inc)].
The financing agreement will see MDV providing the requisite funding in support of SUKE TV’s vision and mission as a broadcast network fuelled by hope, heart, and value – a product built by Malaysians, for Malaysians. SUKE TV aims to bring happiness back to the lives of Malaysians, especially with COVID-19 and natural disasters rocking the nation one after another.
As an all-inclusive platform catering to all Malaysians regardless of gender, race, religion or background, SUKE TV plans to promote joy via entertainment directly into Malaysian homes.
For more info, click here
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