Sequerah was also pleased to announce the addition of two female-founded businesses to the portfolio, bringing the total to 14 businesses with female founders.
ScaleUp Malaysia, a high growth accelerator in Malaysia, announced its Cohort IV and investments for seven innovative companies, investing more than US$600,000 (RM2.65 million) to support innovation in the digital economy.
According to a statement from ScaleUp Malaysia, this cohort represents a significant turning point for the organisation because investments were made upfront rather than at the end of the accelerator programme as with previous cohorts.
The accelerator programme is thrilled to welcome Cohort IV, according to managing partner Andre Sequerah. He noted that the selection process was extremely competitive and that ScaleUp Malaysia is thrilled to have seven outstanding and diverse companies on board.
These businesses have been chosen, he said, “based on their potential to drive regional scalability and their positive impact on society and the economy.” Sequerah was also pleased to announce the addition of two female-founded businesses to the portfolio, bringing the total to 14 businesses with female founders.
He continued, the programme will give the businesses best practises in pitching, financial modelling, business strategy, and product development because its main goal is to give the businesses the skills and knowledge they need to advance their operations.
Tay Shan Li, managing partner of ScaleUp Malaysia, noted that during the programme, a group of seasoned mentors and advisors will work with them to improve their business models and growth plans in order to draw in more funding and promote regional development.
It went on to say, “Over the past three cohorts, we have designed the best practises to work with our investee companies and have seen enormous success in helping them regionalize and raise to their next rounds.”
BeeBag, Docspe, Huddle, Petotum, Stayhere, and Kabel are the companies chosen for Cohort IV, and each will receive an investment of $100,000. Sonicboom will receive an undisclosed strategic investment. Beebag is a smart retail start-up that was co-founded by CEO Joshua Lim Yi Fan.
It is working on gamifying sustainable shopping, developing a mobile app, and creating the technology to turn common reusables into smart reusables that reward consumers for their sustainable actions.
Ahmed Sochin founded Docspe, an integrated ecosystem that fills in the gaps between healthcare providers. Thousands of live amateur and youth sporting events are streamed across the nation by Huddle CEO Andri Reza and his team using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, right to your hand.
It’s interesting to note that Afifah Basir is the founder and CEO of Petotum, the first pet ecosystem integrator in South-East Asia, which offers a system that is integrated for pet owners, pet lovers, businesses, and the general public to revolutionise the pet care ecosystem.
While Kabel is an AI-powered job matching platform that connects employers with university students for internships and job opportunities, StayHere is a one-stop vacation rental solution for owners with a vision to disrupt the lodging industry in Asia.
Last but not least, Sonicboom, one of the leading financial technology (fintech) companies in Malaysia, reinvents payment solutions for unattended businesses using software as a service (SaaS) and cloud-based technology and has handled RM120 million in cashless transactions annually.
These businesses will go through a demanding 12-week accelerator programme designed to hone their business models and develop regional scalability.
The programme will conclude with a demo day attended by international investors. With a success rate of less than 4%, ScaleUp Malaysia received more than 200 applications for Cohort IV from nations all over the region, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia.
Additionally, nations from as far away as the US and UK expressed interest. Selected companies included projects in the Internet of Things (IoT), health tech, sports tech, pet care, travel tech, human resource (HR) tech, and fintech.