IDEA Accelerator graduates emerge as agents of change during demo day

By Digital News Asia July 6, 2018

IDEA Cohort 1 records female representation at 67%
Graduates on a trajectory to generate economic and social impact for Malaysia

IDEA Accelerator graduates emerge as agents of change during demo day

THE Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) celebrated the completion of the first cohort of MaGIC’s IDEA Accelerator with a Demo Day where 29 impact driven enterprises (IDEs) and social enterprises (SEs) presented their refined ideas to a room full of investors, corporations, government agencies, and MaGIC Impact Partners.

IDEA Accelerator Programme aims to provide early-stage IDEs and SEs with the opportunity to pilot their idea, strengthen their business model, solidify their impact delivery models, and secure capital through fundraising.

The 29 IDES and SEs participating in IDEA Accelerator each focused on one of five key impact themes: employment for the marginalised community (7) income and productivity growth for the B40 community (6), equality and empowerment (5), pollution and waste management (6) and community development (5).

MaGIC’s IDEA Accelerator Programme is structured on a build, validate, and learn cycle that requires participants to refine and develop their ideas into practical businesses that are impact driven.

Over the past six weeks, handpicked participants were exposed to the programme’s rigorous curriculum that focuses on seven topics: lean execution, gaining traction, guerrilla marketing, fundraising masterclass, business model creation, pitch perfect, and demo day.

MaGIC chief executive officer Ashran Ghazi, said: “We are seeing a rise in the number of entrepreneurs who are in the business to make an impact to the society or the environment. We have been greatly encouraged by the number of driven change-makers here in Malaysia who are taking it upon themselves to improve the world around them.

“We are really proud of the graduates of our inaugural IDEA Accelerator Programme. Congratulations! We now hope to unleash you as agents of change into Malaysia’s business community where you will play a pivotal role in the larger transformation journey of Malaysia.

“Malaysia, similar to the world around us, faces many societal and environmental challenges – from poverty to educational gaps, pollution and unemployment. Impact driven enterprises and social enterprises offer us potential solutions to these challenges, creating jobs for entrepreneurs at every level of society and becoming a catalyst for inclusive growth and development.

“This is why here at MaGIC we continue to focus our efforts on cultivating Malaysia’s impact driven sector and connecting those active in this sector with available resources and go-to market opportunities. We believe this is key for them to grow and maximise their impact and reach,” Ashran added.

The MaGIC IDEA Accelerator Programme is one of MaGIC’s initiatives to help cultivate Malaysia’s impact driven sector.

By driving growth in the impact driven sector, MaGIC wants to help balance economic growth with environmental protection and the betterment of the society, as well as support Malaysia in contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The programme provided participants with an avenue to validate their idea, accommodation for those from outside of Klang Valley, and a chance to be accredited under MaGIC’s Impact Driven Accreditation Programme.

Dedicated industry mentors were also assigned to every team to share knowledge and experience and help shorten the participants’ learning curve.

MaGIC’s IDEA Accelerator received 233 applications and after a stringent selection process based on its impact potential, business opportunity, and value proposition, 29 IDEs and SEs were selected.

Some of the key sectors these participants are focusing on are: agriculture, environment, healthcare, arts and fashion, food and beverages, education, energy/sanitation and others. Participants for this cohort are 33% male and 67% female. Ninety percent of IDEA Accelerator’s participants are younger than 40 years old and came from all corners of Malaysia.

Wan Dazriq, programme director, Malaysia’s Social Inclusion & Vibrant Entrepreneurship (MasSIVE) at MaGIC, said: “IDEA Accelerator participants have undergone six weeks of intensive immersion during which their social ventures have been moulded into profit-generating IDEs and SEs that can tackle long-term socio-economic disparity and champion a more people-centric Malaysia.

“Although these 29 IDEs are relatively early in their entrepreneurial stage, we believe they will collectively generate encouraging economic and social impact in the near future. I would like to thank our mentors, and partners – KPMG, Deloitte, Pembinaan Tetap Teguh, 500 Startups, Leaders’ Quest, Petrosains, and Social Enterprise Academy as our content delivery partner – for their invaluable support throughout the IDEA Accelerator Programme.”