MaGIC kicks off award winning GAP accelerator’s 5th cohort for 2021

• Past cohorts hit combined US$76.5mil revenue, total investments of US$28.6mil
• Participants to benefit from NTIS, MyStartup Hub & Global Market Fit programs

Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) today kick-started its fully virtual 5th Cohort of the Global Accelerator Programme (GAP), accepting applications from the 1st to the 30th of March 2021.

This multi-award-winning 3-month intensive programme seeks to assist promising local and global mid-to-late stage startups with established product-market-fit for investment. It is especially designed for startups that have launched a product with reasonable traction, as well as highly scalable ones with innovative, strong growth business models. Ideal startups should be less than 3 years old, with a strong focus on expanding their business in Southeast Asia.

With the theme “Accelerating Innovation for Economic Recovery”, MaGIC is looking for participants that have the potential to expedite market recovery through technological adoption and innovation as the Covid-19 vaccination is underway worldwide, sparking optimism for socio-economic recovery.

“The focus this year is to equip startups with necessary skills, as the gateway to a larger ASEAN market for opportunity and access opens up,” said MaGIC Chief Executive officer, Dzuleira Abu Bakar (pic, above).

Dzuleira is optimistic that GAP Cohort 05 will push innovation further than the previous cohorts.

"We’ve seen startups which have pivoted well during the pandemic, and some have produced exciting solutions for the market, solving real problems. These highly-talented and high-potential startups will be fast-tracked on Malaysia’s National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) which aims to accelerate commercialisation of innovations, particularly those that can address societal and sectoral challenges,” said Dzuleira.

“This year’s participants can benefit from NTIS, MyStartup Hub (MSH) and Global Market Fit (GMP) programmes respectively to tap into opportunities beyond our borders as part of accelerating their growth journey," she added. Both MSH and GMP are late-stage programmes that facilitate in-bound and out-bound market access and network opportunities.

GAP is one of the largest, most comprehensive and stringent accelerator programmes in Southeast Asia with an overall acceptance rate of less than 6%. Last year, MaGIC’S GAP Cohort 04 attracted almost over 400 applications, of which 39 startups from six countries were selected, and successfully posted revenue growth of 53% during the course. In spite of the changes brought about by Covid-19, participants raised funding of UD$123,000 (RM500,000) during the course of the programme. These startups offered solutions for 19 industries, including Agriculture, Education, E-Commerce, Enterprise Solutions, Fintech, and Real Estate.

GAP is ranked as one of the world’s top ten most active accelerators (2016), rated the “Best Accelerator Program” by ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards 2017, and awarded Global Futureshaper Award 2017/2018 by Global Startup Award. 147 startups have been accelerated and 296 entrepreneurs impacted through GAP since its inception in 2016. GAP’s past cohorts have generated a combined revenue of RM310 million (US$76.9 million), with total investments amounting to RM116 million (US$28.6 million).

[Ed: Para edited for accuracy.]

MaGIC’s 90-day GAP curriculum will see participants benefiting from services offered by market innovators including Amazon Web Services, MACROKIOSK and Xero, among many others in the form of industry-specific training, access to recorded curriculum content 24/7 and more. They will also be learning from world-class technical and business mentors; leading to a stronger route-to-market focus with extensive corporate support, potential collaboration with global and regional corporates (access to route-to-market partners) and the opportunity to be funnelled to NTIS.

With a unique mentoring and coaching module, and exclusive access to MaGIC’s alumni network and community, GAP prepares startups to be investment-ready, identify elements for swift project and technology implementation, and strengthens their business operations – including areas of legal, finance, HR and marketing. Startups completing the programme will pitch their ideas to an audience of distinguished local and regional investors, corporate partners, and mentors during a Demo Day for investment.

To apply for GAP Cohort 05, please visit http://mymagic.my/gap now.