KUALA LUMPUR: Innov8tif's OkayDoc platform was chosen as the winner in Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd's Huawei Spark competition. The second place went to DoctorOnCall and MHub came in third.
OkayDoc is a set of computer vision algorithms that automates ID authentication and prevents fraud in e-KYC (electronic know your customer) through visual zone inspections, security feature detection and content tampering checks. DoctorOnCall on the other hand delivers healthcare services like online doctors, specialists, pharmacists, screenings and vaccines directly to users with Artificial Intelligence (AI) doctors and 5G Internet of Things (IoT) Pods that aim to improve healthcare for at least 700 million people in Southeast Asia while MHUB leads end-to-end property sales transaction platform that speeds up and simplifies the property sales cycle by connecting developers, agents, banks, lawyers and buyers.
These three companies were among the 10 finalists shortlisted from more than 140 entries received for the Huawei Spark competition. A competition which aims to incubate and accelerate company growth and build an ecosystem for businesses in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
The 10 companies that made it to the top were BookDoc, Boss Boleh, DoctorOnCall, Fuhla, Innov8tif, MHub, MSA - Mobile Sharing Assistant, OrangeFIN Asia, Orpheus Capital and SmartPeep.
The competition was held in collaboration with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), TusStar (Malaysia) as incubator partner, and powered by TM ONE – the enterprise and the public sector business solutions arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) – through its α Edge (pronounced as Alpha Edge) Cloud platform.
"MDEC remains steadfast in our laser-focus drive to develop and grow the digital economy, in line with MyDIGITAL. Effective collaboration will improve innovation as we look to continuously grow our capacities, facilities and capabilities and the Huawei Spark programme will help shape our digital tech ecosystem and reinforces Malaysia's goal to be the regional powerhouse for global tech champions," said MDEC's vice president, Tech ecosystems & globalisation (TEG), Gopi Ganesalingam.
A five member panel of judges comprising representatives from MDEC, TM ONE, TusStar and Huawei decided on the winners after a pitching session by the finalists.
The five judges were TM ONE's general manager of Data Centre, Cloud and Internet, Mohamed Rejab Sulaiman; MDEC's head of business development, Ryan Chan; Huawei Malaysia head of partner Ecosystem, Cloud & AI, Low Wei Chung; Huawei APAC's Chief digital officer, Cloud & AI, Nuo Jiang; and TusStar's general manager and partner, Liu Bo.
Launched virtually in Malaysia last November, the Huawei Spark programme is a hybrid accelerator programme to support deep tech companies in Asia Pacific , with a focus on firms that use 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning & Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Edge Computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, leveraging Huawei's technological and innovation leadership.
The programme aims to drive output in the areas of e-commerce, Fintech, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Smart Cities.
Huawei Malaysia's Vice president of Cloud & AI, Lim Chee Siong said, as a global technology company, it was Huawei's responsibility to support local businesses and help grow the country's digital economy.
"In doing so, we will help grow the digital ecosystem. Through this programme, we are providing conducive space for companies to grow, and giving them the tools and other resources that they need to have that competitive edge," he said, adding that healthy and thriving digital business ecosystem will drive innovation and bring great value to the country's digital economy as a whole and in line with the government's Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, or MyDIGITAL, which aims to accelerate the country's digital economy by boosting local business competitiveness, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), through digitalisation.
Innov8tif through its OkayDoc platform received financial support of US$125,000 worth of Cloud credits for the company to build their technology stack; one-on-one mentoring and networking opportunities with industry experts; online and offline training resources, dedicated technical support; Go-To-Market (GTM) support, and a chance at being immortalised in a "Hall of Fame" by being featured in advertorials published by Huawei and MDEC.
For the companies ranked second and third, they will also receive a six-month long accelerator programme which includes financial support of US$80,000 worth of Cloud credits for the company to build their technology stack; one-on-one mentoring and networking opportunities with industry experts; online and offline training resources; technical support; Go-To-Market (GTM) support, and a chance at being immortalised in a "Hall of Fame" by being featured in advertorials published by Huawei and MDEC GAIN.