The Take Away Message: START Friday

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START Friday was back for 2016 with our very first one for 2016 with Mohammad Hazani bin Hassan, Director of Technology Ventures Division, Malaysian Technology Development Corporation, MTDC. Mr. Hazani has 20 years of experience locally and internationally in fund management, venture capital and technology transfer sits on the Malaysian Venture Capital Association (MVCA) and Technopreneur Association of Malaysia (TeAM) management committee and Board of Directors of MTDC’s investee companies.

Despite the thunderstorm and bad traffic, we managed to gather an enthusiastic group of entrepreneurs and enthusiast for our event. Below is a brief take home message from the dialogue with Mr. Hazani.

MTDC offers 5 forms of funding opportunities:

  1. The Commercialisation of Research & Development Fund, CRDF provides funding to commercialize Malaysian originated R&D. Funding opportunity is up to MYR 4 million per grant. This fund category is split into 3 sub-categories;
    1. CRDF1 – grant specifically for the commercialisation of R&D from public and private universities, government research institutes by a “spin-off companies” from public and private universities.
    2. CRDF2 – grant specifically for the commercialisation of R&D from public and private universities, government research institutes by a start-up company.
    3. CRDF3 – split into another 2 categories
      1. CRDF3(a) – grant for the commercialisation of any local R&D by an SME
      2. CRDF3(b) – grant for the commercialisation of a public sector R&D by a non-SME.
    4. The Technology Acquiring Fund, TAF is to help local companies acquire foreign technology. This historically been focused on manufacturing activities but MTDC is open to other areas as well. Funding opportunity is up to MYR 4 million per grant.
    5. The Business start-up Fund, BSF help new start-up technology-based companies. This is a loan in the form of a Convertible Note. The conversion will be into Preferred shares and the price shall be negotiated at the time of conversion. The loan has a three year interest and payment free period. Some of the focus industries of BSF include Industrial Technology, Biotechnology, Sea to Space, Science & Technology Core, and Information Communications &Technology. Funding opportunity is up to MYR 5 million per grant.
    6. The Business Growth Fund, BGF is established to support and provide follow up funding to successful grant recipient companies, usually those who had been granted BSF before. This is also in the form of CN with the price agreed upon at the beginning of the loan periodFunding opportunity is up to MYR 10 million per application.
    7. The Business Expansion Fun, BEF was established to assist Bumiputera technology based businesses to expand their reach locally and internationally. Funding opportunity is up to MYR 10 million. The company needs to have a minimum of RM 10 million in revenue and be profitable.

For more information on the funding opportunities, application process and FAQs, visit http://www.mtdc.com.my/.

What does MTDC look for in applicants?

  1. All applicant will undergo an aptitude test and background check. MTDC will cross reference with relevant government agencies as well as other funding agencies.
  2. Some of the key factors in the funding decision process is the innovative value of the technology, impact on the economy, market opportunities and conditions, and the team.

With the conclusion of the event and a special pizza treat for all those who attended, we have kicked off 2016 with a bang and we promise to bring more speakers for you.

Do you have a particular topic in mind that you would like to know more about? Let us know by heading over to this link: http://goo.gl/forms/9hKQ2zEQRF and stay tuned for more START Fridays and events from START Co-Working Space.

Malaysian Innovators urged to Innovate, Communicate and Collaborate

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The Malaysian International Healthcare Innovation Conference & Exhibition, MIHICE the second time running this year at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Cyberjaya between November 30 and December 1.

MIHICE was spearheaded by Dr. Hooshmand Palany who is not only the Conference Director but also a healthcare specialist for Agensi Innovasi Malaysia. The conference aims to bring people in healthcare and technology under one roof to discuss and share ideas, trends and new discoveries as well as to inspire innovation in the field of medicine and healthcare.

MIHICE was launched by the Minister of Health Malaysia, Datuk S. Subramaniam, who stressed on the importance of conceptualizing ideas in order to provide more efficient and productive healthcare services.

“Putting more money into healthcare is not the solution. It is finding better ways of spending the money that we have, is the solution and that is where innovation comes in.”

Some of the highlights of the conference include presentations on game changing molecular technology in the combat against cancer by, 3D printing of surgical aid and prosthesis which is now used quite extensively in Malaysia, the impact of big data and artificial intelligence in health care. A big portion of the conference was also dedicated to panel discussions about data analytics, business opportunities in healthcare as well as the growing presence of biotechnology in healthcare innovation

The conference also featured winners from the Ministry of Health National Innovation Award Winners in the categories of Services, Processes, Products and Technology. Furthermore, the conference also saw the exchange of MoU Documents and presentation of certificates for the Centre of Excellence in Digital Healthcare and the Healthcare Innovation Challenge Fund.

The message at the end of the conference was clear, Malaysia needs to build an innovative healthcare ecosystem where different industrial player can collaborate with each other. The setting up of platforms to allow young entrepreneurs, innovators, healthcare specialists and enthusiast will definitely bring about new disruptive technologies that are changing the way we see healthcare today.