Only 0.25% of Malaysian companies are startups, industry potential untapped
It’s the millennial Silicon Valley dream: own a company, be your own boss, and consume copious amounts of coffee.
There are an estimated 3,000 startups in Malaysia, which makes up around 0.25% of the < 1 million registered enterprises in the country.
0.25% is a very small number when compared to our neighbour Singapore at 9%, but that only means the startup industry in Malaysia is teeming with untapped potential.
The programme manager of Global Accelerator Programme from Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) Yusuf Jaffar claims that there are a lot of funds available in Malaysia for startups.
Over US$1.75bil (about RM7.3 bil) in venture capital is available for the local ecosystem, and only about 50% has been used.
Unfortunately, almost all that capital is given to startups who have already grown substantially. In Malaysia, many investors want to see results before investing. Only 0.89% of venture capital was given to early-stage start-ups.
For many wanna-be entrepreneurs, they see potential in the market, but struggle to find capital.
This year, the Wild Digital Southeast Asia Conference is tackling this issue with their 2019 theme “Advancing SEA’s Billion-Dollar Ideas”.
The conference is expected to be a platform for entrepreneurs and investors to connect, network, and learn from the best of the best.
They have invited key representatives to speak and host panels from companies such as Klook, Zalora, Waze, BigPay, and more.
Attendees will be able to request coffee chats with speakers, meet investors, and even help crowdfund investment-ready startups live.
Wild Digital has also always been a strong advocate for more women in startups and the tech industry, which is why they are providing complimentary general admission tickets for the first 50 female applicants now!
The conference is happening on 3-4 July 2019 at Le Meridien KL. For more information, visit their website here.
