Growth stage accelerator, ScaleUp Malaysia announced the selection of the Top 20 Companies for Cohort 3 which it announced in August. The team evaluated over 200 applications not just from Malaysia but also attracted startups from as far as the United States of America, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and Egypt.
Commenting on the selection of the Top 20, Andre Sequerah, Managing Partner of ScaleUp Malaysia said, “We selected these companies based on their ability to develop solutions for the new normal and the Founders’ capabilities to execute their business plans during the pandemic.”
The companies selected hail from a diverse group of industries and verticals such as Edutech, Fintech, Media, Manufacturing, Cyber Security, FoodTech and eCommerce. While one of the requirements to participate in ScaleUp Malaysia is a minimum previous 12-month revenue of RM300,000 Cohort 3’s Top 20 has an average revenue of RM1.2 million in the last year.
“Being at the most significant stage of growth, it is vital for them to have the right level of support in building sustainable, scalable businesses and having a clear roadmap to grow beyond our shores. This has been the aspiration for all of us for the Cohort 3 participants,” adds Sequerah.
Joining ScaleUp Malaysia for Cohort 3 are two international Venture Capital firms, Quest Ventures and Indelible Ventures. The 20 selected companies will each be on separate tracks and will work closely with each Venture Capital firm.
For Singapore-based regional firm Quest Ventures – who counts 2 sovereign wealth funds as investors, this will be the second year of its partnership with ScaleUp Malaysia. It has already invested in 10 Malaysia companies and will further invest in ScaleUp Malaysia Cohort 3 demonstrating its commitment and belief in the Malaysian market. Quest Ventures has selected 15 Companies to be a part of their track.
Jeffrey Seah, Partner of Quest Ventures said that “Malaysian founders are plucky, and have never been short of financial investment options. Their perennial challenge remains to find financial investors with established go-to-market networks outside of Malaysia. Those business introductions will provide product validation and pricing models that will unlock the potential of the Scaleup companies, and guide the companies in the following stages of venture funding. Our experience with Malaysian founders and companies have been rewarding – they have unappreciated potential that can be unleashed to the Southeast Asia region with the right support.”
The companies selected for the Quest Ventures track are: Jazro Tech, MADCash, Traitily, GuruInovatif, SpareXHub, Nanka, Vireserve, Open Academy, Hav., PantangPlus, J8 Autism, Graze Market, WeGo, Wa Sushi and Biztech.Asia.
Indelible Ventures, a US based fund with a mandate to invest in Malaysian B2B startups, has selected 5 companies to be a part of its track which it believes have the potential to scale at an international arena. Kevin Brockland, Managing Partner said, “These companies have shown that they can build potentially world class products and are at an inflection point. I look forward to working with them to put Malaysian based scaleups on the radar regionally and globally.”
The companies selected for the Indelible Ventures track are: Midwest Composites, Howuku, Q3 Payments, GoCloud and Neptrix.
The Top 20 selected companies will undergo an intensive 4 month process that will aim to help identify and address gaps in their business models and strategies. Working closely with Quest Ventures and Indelible Ventures, the ScaleUp Malaysia team will work on elements such as The ScaleUp Playbook, Building Scalable Products, Financial Modeling, Crafting Narratives, Go To Market strategies and more through group based training and 1-1 coaching sessions. In January 2022, 10 companies will receive offers for investment of RM250,000 to continue their growth journey with ScaleUp Malaysia, Quest Ventures and Indelible Ventures.
