MaGIC-NEXEA partnership elevates the growth of startups

• Achieved more than US$238.5 million in combined valuations
• Helped startups gain over US$17.8 million in combined revenues

NEXEA’s Entrepreneurs Programme and Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) have renewed their partnership to continue helping startups grow their businesses during this challenging time. 

In a statement, MaGIC said despite the pandemic, the Entrepreneurs Programme continues to provide a platform for tech entrepreneurs to connect with peers and like-minded individuals in an opportunity to grow, gain knowledge, and develop themselves for success.

Since collaborating with NEXEA in March 2021, MaGIC has empowered 15 participants. In this quarter, the startups have grown tremendously in terms of generating revenue, team expansion, growing the startup valuation and gaining fundraising, it said. 

The agency claimed that the startups it has supported have recorded a total of US$9.7 million (RM41mil) revenue in this quarter.

Realizing that the partnership promoted the entrepreneurs' growth, it said it has expanded support to another 15 participants later in September. 

MaGIC has now opened up to a total of 30 slots for the programme.

Khalid Yashaiya, acting chief executive officer of MaGIC, said the ability to scale up, access untapped markets, enhance brand positioning, access to funds and partners, are crucial factors to the success of technology and innovation businesses. 

“By value-adding to the startups’ growth development cycle, we are effectively enhancing the value and impact for our innovators to deliver its benefits back into the ecosystem.

“Together with our corporate partners we can empower startups who will be at the forefront of the digital transformation while positioning them for exponential growth to accelerate commercialisation rates of key technologies pivotal to the growth of the country,” he said.

With the consolidation of MaGIC and TPM as MRANTI, Khalid said it can further empower innovators who will be at the forefront of the digital transformation while positioning them for exponential growth to accelerate commercialisation rates of key technologies pivotal to the growth of the country.

Eu Gin, the founder of Riipay, a financial service company that provides ‘buy now, pay later’ for customers’ easy financial management was one of the newer startups under the programme. 

"The Entrepreneurs Programme has allowed me to build deeper connections with many fellow entrepreneurs.

"With this, I am able to learn from their experience, which has helped me build a more sustainable business with a high focus on business fundamentals, such as company business development strategy, company finance, talent management, and more.

"As a startup, managing our costs to be as lean as possible is very crucial. MaGIC's support has eased me in managing my company's finances better," he said.

Apart from that, Keith Loh, the founder of Perkaholic, a startup that is passionate about providing lifestyle perks for employees, said, "Having been through the programme, we have truly discovered who we truly are as entrepreneurs. We have gained so much knowledge and experience from this program."

"As a result, NEXEA's Entrepreneurs Programme has accelerated the process, ensuring we do not repeat the mistakes of others who have gone through the same process.

"As a startup, the team is now more aware of what will happen, which will enable us to progress better by avoiding traps that we otherwise would have fallen into," said Loh.

As of the third quarter of 2021, MaGIC claimed that the Entrepreneurs Programme has managed to help the startups to gain more than US$17.8 million (RM75mil) in total combined revenues and over US$238.5 million (RM1bil) in combined startup valuations.

It has also managed to achieve US$28 million (RM118mil) in combined funding for these entrepreneurs, it added.

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