Tiffany Bloomquist’s Post

You have to be here! I attended the Endeavor Malaysia Future Forum panel, "The Appeal of Malaysia: Insights into Global Companies Establishing Local Offices" moderated by Tunku Alizakri Alias (Penjana Kapital Sdn. Bhd.), with panelists Koichi Saito KK Fund, Sophie Chiu (AppWorks), and Norman Vanhaecke (Cradle Fund). The moderator strongly emphasized the importance of Global Companies opening offices in Malaysia, providing compelling reasons for doing so. Hopefully, we'll soon see many ecosystem players establishing a presence in Malaysia. I’d like to add my perspective: Malaysia's tech ecosystem presents unique challenges and opportunities. Countries and people are very different from each other, so strategies that work elsewhere may not apply here. Ecosystems attract talent, fueling innovation and creating a multiplier effect. To truly understand the needs, opportunities, and challenges, it’s crucial to be present, be known, attend events, and listen carefully to ALL players—including institutions, developers, founders, students, providers, and companies. Finally, it's simply the right thing to do ❤️ #KLTechEvents #Entrepreneurship #Startups

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬? Catch Vincent X., who's also the COO of Finology, sharing his insights at the 𝐌𝐁𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 2024! See you there! #finology #MBANSummit2024 #malaysiastartups

⭐️Day 2 Summary of the 2024 Annual Delegation of UK and European Technology Companies To Malaysia ⭐️ Another very busy agenda organised by the team at wippd. We had an Investor Showcase Session, at the Asia School of Business. This was followed by the welcome remarks from Chairman of Cradle Fund. We were given an Interesting insight into the Malaysian StartUp ecosystem overview: MYstartup platform and the overall funding landscape. Then we the UK/EU delegates delivered our punchy pitch presentations, and I had the opportunity, for the first time, to showcase our business strategy and plans to an independent investor audience. Wow! Wow! Wow! Skills4Startups®️ is 9 months in and we have achieved the unthinkable. Following the pitch, we attracted interest in our plans to replicate Skills4Startups® Festival Roadshow UK to the Malaysian Start-up community in collaboration with Malaysion experts and companies. We will be working with wippd on the S4S international Roadshow model when we get back to London 🚀 Exciting times !! The day is not over, as we prepare for our special evening dinner with the Deputy Minister for Economy for Malaysia. What an incredible evening ahead. Check out my latest video below 👇 kevin jackson Marc Wright George Osei-Oppong Jr Inaas Abdalla Kunle Ademola-Sadipe, MCIArb Raj Mendhir #Skills4Startups #StartupsGrowth #Voice4Startups #InternationalRoadshows #HighImpactEducation #StartupsRevolution #PowerOfEducation #Skills #MalaysianStartups #GlobalAmbition #NewDigitalMobileStartupsBusinessSchool #NewDigitalStartupsMembershipNetwork #YourStartupSuccessIsOurSuccess #GrowYourStartupThroughUs #GoalMet #2025MegaVision

Is #Malaysia the next big thing in tech? Lots of takeaways after the first day of Tech in Asia’s KL conference: 1. In many ways, Malaysia’s #technology and #VentureCapital ecosystem reminds me of #Indonesia’s a decade ago - lots of excitement, plenty of parties, but not many deals. 2. In fact, Malaysia trails the pack in VC funding. According to Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, the country accounts for only 1.3% of all VC equity funding and 6.3% of all VC equity deals in #SoutheastAsia. 3. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Having limited access to institutional funding meant that Malaysian entrepreneurs have historically built businesses that are profitable and sustainable, instead of pursuing “growth at all cost” by burning VC dollars. 4. Furthermore, Malaysia’s GDP per capita is USD 12k, approximately 3x that of Indonesia’s, #Vietnam’s, and the #Philippines’. This means that Malaysian #startups enjoy better unit economics than their regional peers while operating in a relatively low-cost environment. 5. However, according to a regional VC, “Malaysian founders need to dream bigger” than just catering to the domestic market. Unlike its larger neighbours, Malaysia is home to only 34 million residents - the population of metropolitan Jakarta (Jabodetabek). 6. Malaysia’s digital economy is also only USD 23 billion, compared to Indonesia’s (USD 82 billion) and Vietnam’s (USD 45 billion). This means that, in order to scale, Malaysian startups need to build for the region and beyond. 7. The Malaysian government is actively promoting the local startup ecosystem. From regulatory reforms to seed capital for local VCs, Malaysia wants to have 5,000 start-ups by 2025, and aims to become "a top 20 country in the global start-up ecosystem by 2030". Will these efforts result in more VC funding for Malaysian startups? All comments welcome. If you want to exchange notes on the Malaysian tech and VC scene over coffee, I will be in KL all week, together with my colleagues Daniel Yong, Charmaine Sng, Nadira Sjarif, so drop us a line or leave a comment below! Photo of the KTMB in KL, Malaysia, by me.

Why is the entrepreneur community so bullish about Malaysia? It’s an exciting time to be here! Malaysia is eager to develop and produce high-value technology and aims to become a high-income country. Young local entrepreneurs see this as an opportunity to bring their ideas to life, escaping low salaries and the traditional, outdated corporate mindset and hierarchy that stifle growth, curb creativity, and offer limited opportunities for change. Building software is an ideal path to generating global wealth, and realizing dreams; it has a low barrier to entry, and factors like family background, neighborhood, or school don’t define or limit one’s potential. Meritocracy thrives, where data-driven decisions, talent, skills, and effort outweigh tradition and seniority. Knowledge is a key driver for change. Let Malaysia build and show the world what is possible when people, governments, universities, and companies work together to transform a country. #Cloud #Entrepreneurship #Startups The picture below was taken at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Malaysia, the leading supporter of Malaysia's startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

🚀 Startups are defined by their agile, lean, and adaptable business models, offering innovative value-driven growth and tech-based solutions while catering to customer needs. This substantial contribution highlights the strategic importance of Startup20. The latest #Startup20 Brazil aims to present and develop important recommendations for the G20 Brazil Presidency in 2024. 💡 E-DISC continues to deepen its engagement with G20 bodies. Dr Giulia Ajmone Marsan, ERIA’s Head of Startups and Inclusion and member of the ESG Task Force of Startup20 represented ERIA: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia at the concluding Startup20 Summit, the G20 engagement group focused on startups and innovation. 📑 Read further here: https://lnkd.in/gmDS_udC

Yesterday, together with Rafizi Ramli we chaired the KL20 Monitoring Committee meeting to assess the latest updates and progress of our KL20 marquee initiatives. With the involvement of key ministries and agencies, including MDEC, MIDA, MRANTI, Cradle, and other stakeholders, this meeting underscored the importance of maintaining strong momentum and ensuring that our initiatives are both impactful and globally competitive. Our ongoing work demands a solid commitment from all parties to enhance Malaysia’s innovation ecosystem, making it attractive to international startups and venture capitalists. As we strengthen our foundation, we are dedicated to building an environment that will not only retain but also attract world-class talent and investments, placing Malaysia on the global innovation map. So far, we’re pleased with the progress of KL20 initiatives and are seeing promising developments across several programs. However, we recognize there is still much potential to exceed the targets set and further elevate Malaysia's position in the global innovation landscape. Initiatives like the VC Golden Pass and KL Innovation Belt are starting to garner significant interest, demonstrating the strength of our ecosystem in attracting international venture capital and startup attention. We’re also excited to see the number of startups on MyStartup steadily increasing, a testament to the growing entrepreneurial energy within Malaysia. This growth is essential as we build a thriving ecosystem that contributes directly to our Ekonomi Madani vision. With continued commitment and collaboration, KL20 will not only meet but exceed its aspirations, driving Malaysia to the forefront of the innovation economy.

⭐ 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐮𝐩 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 - 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲? ⭐ As Skills4Startups® prepares for its very FIRST Trade Mission to Malaysia, we take a close look at the phenomenal Malaysia Start-up Landscape and its achievements in this space. Did you know that Malaysia's Start-up Ecosystem is ranked 3rd in South East Asia? 🚀 Check out this short research video on Malaysia's ambitions 👇 #Skills4Startups #VoiceForStartups #GrowYourStartupThroughUs #TradeMission #Vision #GlobalAmbitions

Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) 's workshop can help you navigate #southeastasia! Have a look at the post and link.

Inaugrating South Summit in #Korea 🎉 I had the honor of being on stage twice (!) with Nacho Mateo of South Summit & Annick Janssens of IE Business School & Riso Dongok Ahn to talk about the Korean startup ecosystem and Emerging Markets. Needless to say, I had an awesome time. Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ There's a great deal of challenges that are in fact opportunities in disguise in Emerging Markets. Real successful entrepreneurs in EM can identify these, and execute relentless (no excuse). 2️⃣ Global companies are coming out of emerging markets, from onset. A few examples from Orbit's portfolio. Tappytoon(태피툰) (https://lnkd.in/gTuTzpjC), a Korean company, is one of the largest web comics player in US/Europe. MUTA (https://mutaworld.com/), a Colombian seed-stage clean-tech company, is already working with major traders and energy companies as clients in the UK and the US. 3️⃣ "Global" market doesn't always mean US and Europe. Plenty of our portfolio companies make the "rest of the world" collaboration happen. InsightGenie (https://bizbaz.tech/), a Singaporean company, now works with alternative credit scoring data in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and even LATAM. And these are only a few examples from our 300+ portfolio companies! Thanks South Summit, Gyeongggi-do, Andrea Beleván, Christopher Locke ⚡️, Oscar Ramos for the invitation. Hope to see you in next year's edition around the world! #startups #emergingmarkets #venturecapital