MaGIC concludes inaugural Global Accelerator Programme

  • Forty-four startups from the overall 54 startups that graduated from GAP pitched during the demo day
  • Only Asian accelerator ranked as one of the top 10 most active accelerators globally

 

MaGIC concludes inaugural Global Accelerator Programme

 

THE Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) recently concluded its first Global Accelerator Programme (GAP) with a demo day that saw 44 startups from the 54 startups that graduated from the cohort pitched their business ideas to a room of 100 potential investors.

After three cohorts of the MaGIC Accelerator Programme (MAP) MaGIC has taken its programme to the global stage with the aim of further establishing and strengthening Malaysia's position as the gateway to the region for entrepreneurs keen to expand their business and reach in Southeast Asia.

“Our vision is to build a strong startup community across Asean and for GAP to be the only Asian accelerator ranked in the top 10 most active accelerators globally in Gust’s Global Accelerator Report 2016 really speaks volume about the programme,” said MaGIC chief executive officer Ashran Ghazi.

The four-month programme saw participants split across nine industry verticals that spanned lifestyle, health, education, finance and social innovation. The first cohort was led by 23 lifestyle and 10 healthcare startups.

When asked as to why only 44 startups pitched during the demo day from the total 54 startups that graduated, MaGIC's vice president of academy Jonathan Lee clarified that due to various factors such as the startup's readiness to pitch and limited time to fit so many startups during the demo day. 

 [Paragraph added for clarity]

MaGIC said about 67% of GAP Cohort 1’s startups came from Malaysia with other participants coming from Denmark, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia to name a few.

MaGIC provided participants with benefits worth over US$500,000 (RM2,110,750), industry-specific training and a chance for partnerships with private sector companies like Digi, Malaysian Airlines, Media Prima and Petronas.

 [The preceding paragraph has been amended after MaGIC clarified its figures]

Most importantly the startups were given a chance to access a large pool of mentors and coaches from companies like Unicef, Fave, iPrice Group, Fashion Valet, Lazada, Google, Biji-Biji and many others.

 

MaGIC concludes inaugural Global Accelerator Programme

 

Ashran (pic, above) explained how MaGIC’s senior management was constantly looking at ways to improve the programme in preparation for Cohort 2.

“We have done a lot of enrichment programmes but the constant conversation among senior management is how can we make the process of engagement more efficient so that the interaction between the corporates and entrepreneurs is smoother,” he said.

According to MaGIC, applications for the next GAP will open in February 2018. The programme will be run out of the MaGIC Campus in Cyberjaya.

 

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