A total of 25 start-ups in Malaysia will be moving on to the second phase of the Social Impact Challenge Accelerator (SICA) by MaGiC. Implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Malaysia, phase 2 of SICA will see the start-ups go through a rigorous Impact Accelerator programme.
The Impact Accelerator programme will also collaborate with 500 Global, one of the world’s most active venture capital firms. The Impact Accelerator is designed based on the success of the ImpactAim model first launched by UNDP in Armenia in 2017. UNDP has launched similar Impact Venture Accelerator programmes in Denmark, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Thailand working with ventures from over 45 countries. In Malaysia, the Impact Accelerator programme will take the best elements of ImpactAim customised to local context and needs to boost the development of social entrepreneurship and impact-oriented start-up ventures in Malaysia, contributing towards amplifying the positive impact of local innovations and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The programme primarily focuses on accelerating the growth of impact ventures targeting five priority fields; (i) affordable and accessible senior care services; (ii) upcycling plastic into commercial products; (iii) accessible and affordable education; (iv) providing children support in mental health and psycho-social support and access to safe and clean environment; (v) climate change and sustainable cities.
The strategic partnership with MaGIC infuses Malaysia and global impact investment ecosystem with SDG impact factor, enabling a more productive environment for finding, developing, testing and scaling technology and business solutions that address global and national SDG-related challenges.
“The problem statements selected for SICA are not new yet they are unresolved pressing issues that affect our society. Through this collaboration with the UNDP, we look forward to connecting new innovative solutions to our partners in addressing their problem statements and at the same time, increase market adoption of impact driven products and services. We are excited to have these 25 local start-ups getting a step closer to accelerate their impact-driven innovation model development for greater market roll out,” said Amiruddin Abdul Shukor, Acting CEO of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC)
SICA is a platform (www.mymagic.my/sica) that assembles high potential innovators to accelerate their impact model development for greater market rollout.
A total of 184 applications were received for four Impact Challenges and one closed door challenge in phase 1 of SICA.
