Solarvest offers seed, accelerator fund for renewables, green tech, fintech

  • SIL 2021 Targets, renewable energy, green tech and fintech
  • Seed fund of RM10,000 ; acceleartor fund worth RM100,000 on offer

Solarvest Holdings Bhd has launched Solarvest Innovation Lab 2021 (SIL 2021), a start-up programme to spur innovation and entrepreneurship developments in Malaysia with particular emphasis on renewable energy, green technology, and financial technology.

In a statement, the company said Malaysia's clean energy adoption has seen a rise over the years, locking in a cumulative average growth rate of 50% between 2015 and 2019.

Moving forward, the renewable energy sector is projected to continue its upward trajectory with the government’s goal of a carbon-neutral Malaysia by 2050, it said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s fintech industry is also on the verge of a big breakthrough with the heavily anticipated approval of digital banking licenses in 2022, it added.

Group CEO of Solarvest, Davis Chong said as an advocate for new energy, innovation has always been one of the core principles in everything it does.

He said through SIL 2021, the company wants to unearth like-minded start-ups with transformational ideas that could potentially spark exponential growth to the RE and fintech industries.

“We believe start-ups can play an important role in the advancement of, not just the renewable energy and fintech industries but the economy as a whole as they are usually the ones that come up with game-changing ideas but lack financial resources and business knowledge.

“Through SIL 2021, we are confident in our ability as a mentor and an investor to bridge the gap between great ideas and marketable executions.”

Solarvest said its partners include Malaysian Technology Development Corporation, Telekom Malaysia Berhad, Malaysia Global Innovation and Creativity Centre, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, INTI International University and Colleges, Junior Chamber International Malaysia, and JCI Creative Young Entrepreneurs Award.

Chong said SIL 2021 is able to create an ecosystem where both Solarvest and the start-ups could form a symbiotic relationship.

The start-up programme is split into two rounds of funding namely, seed funding and accelerator funding. The seed funding round is aimed at start-ups with bright business ideas that are yet to be commercialised, Solarvest said.

Successful new ventures will receive a seed fund amounting to RM10,000 to prove a concept within six months. To bring them up to speed, SIL 2021 will also provide amongst others, special business workshops, business coaching, and physical workplaces, it said. 

Once an idea has been proven viable, the candidate is eligible to participate in a subsequent pitch to potentially receive an accelerator fund of RM100,000 in exchange for a certain percentage of ownership in the company, Solarvest said.

Meanwhile, it said businesses that already have a proof of concept can bypass the seed funding round to apply for the accelerator fund directly.

Benefits-in-kind similar to the preceding round will be offered with the objective of idea implementation and bringing the product or service to market within a timeframe of twelve 12 months, it added.

Solarvest will also assist in further fund raising and other grant applications that are relevant and help the company get connected by leveraging its extensive business network, it said.

More information on SIL 2021 is available here.

 

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