The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has launched the Founders Grindstone, its sixth funding initiative in the span of four months.
This comes after the facilitation of five alternative funding initiatives for companies seeking financial relief during the Movement Control Order that was implemented on March 18.
The Founders Grindstone is a six-month programme, consisting three blocks of intensive workshops conducted by global partners from venture capital firms, equity crowdfunding operators, startup-centric media and the legal practice.
It also aims to offer the opportunity to leverage funding platforms of the partners on-board, granting Malaysian entrepreneurs access to investment offerings by the global funding network.
The first block of workshops will be conducted virtually by MDEC and Draper Startup House Ventures (DSH) on July 15. Participants will be guided on the creation of effective pitch decks and the art of storytelling.
Following the workshop, participating startups will be eligible to submit their pitch decks on the DSH Ventures platform where 20 chosen startups will be invited to pitch in the coming weeks.
Part of the programme, Izwan & Partners will be running an enrichment workshop, July 29 in order to address the legalities involved in the funding process.
“Founders Grindstone will up the ante in our post-seed startup landscape. As we focus on scaling digitally-powered business, we are thrilled to draw on the collective experience of Draper Startup House and top-echelon partners to provide stewardship and tactical advice to our tech entrepreneurs. ,” said MDEC chief executive officer, Surina Shukri.
“Tech startups are undeniably the key drivers of digital transformation worldwide. Going digital is no longer a corporate mantra but part of our lifestyle today, from contactless transactions at work and leisure, to e-learning in schools, digital ID at dwellings, remote-working solutions, e-wallets and many more,” added MDEC’s Global Growth Acceleration Division vice-president, Gopi Ganesalingam.
Registration is now open and additional information is available at https://www.malaysiadigitalhub.my/virtualfunding
