MaGIC announces KL-hosted global entrepreneurial initiative … in Jakarta

• Expecting around 3,000 entrepreneurs, investors and industry players
• Looking to spark cross-border entrepreneurship cooperation

THE Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) has announced an international entrepreneurial forum called Global Entrepreneurship Community (GECommunity), part of the country’s push to become the entrepreneurial hub in South-East Asia.
 
GECommunity will be held in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 2-3 as part of Malaysia Entrepreneurship Week, a programme under its Ministry of Finance’s National Entrepreneurship Development Office, Malaysian officials said at the 12th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta on Aug 3.
 
READ ALSO: Waqf crowdfunding platform launched for Muslims to contribute to causes
 
“We are launching the GECommunity here in Jakarta at an international forum in order to get the word out to the international audience, and to get their support,” said MaGIC chairman Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, also the Secretary-General (Treasury) of the Ministry of Finance.
 
Irwan said that he expected around 3,000 participants, including 1,200 entrepreneurs as well as regulators, private sector players, industry experts, and investors.
 
“This will be the stage where global partnerships will be formed, and not just at the ecosystem level,” said MaGIC chief executive officer Ashran Ghazi.
 
He said that GECommunity would not be just “another get-together,” but would be a forum that can help startups in terms of sustainability, and to allay the perception that entrepreneurship was a high-risk venture.
 
It will also act as a bridge between entrepreneurs from different countries, he added.
 
GECommunity will be divided in eight business clusters: Agro, food and biotech; retail and consumer goods and lifestyle; environment; education; banking, insurance and the capital market; media, entertainment and infrastructure; global health and healthcare; and supply chain and logistics.
 
MaGIC is aiming to bring in 100 key players from the relevant sectors for each business cluster to exchange ideas and share industry best practices.
 
“From these eight clusters we will look for ideas that will lead to … industry transformation and collaboration between countries,” Ashran said.
 
GECommunity will also have 12 ‘fireside chats’ and group mentoring, as well as pitching and matchmaking events for funding and business partnerships.
 
Part of the event would be open to members of the public, while the rest – especially small group discussions – will be reserved for registered attendees only.
 

 
“We want to ensure that the event just does not end at the event, but will be a continuous effort so that there will be an ongoing impact on the entrepreneurship community,” Ashran (pic above) said.
 
He said that he hoped GECommunity would spur countries to kick off cooperative and collaborative efforts to create ‘micro-ecosystems’ that would support joint projects.
 
“This is an effort to bring the right players together, so that entrepreneurs – regardless where they are – have open access, and open networks,” he said.
 
Related Stories:
 
Malaysia and Indonesia in startup ecosystem partnership
 
New MaGIC CEO rolls up his sleeves, ready to launch new stuff
 
Turning Malaysia into the ‘go to’ entrepreneur hub
 
 
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.