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#TECH: Mranti's refreshed accelerator programme strengthens Malaysia's technology potential

KUALA LUMPUR: Looking to bridge the gap in enabling local technology companies to scale up and stand on par with global companies, Mranti Gap is on a mission to unlock the growth potential of Malaysia's SMEs.

A convergence between Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) and the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), Mranti aims to fast-track the country's commercialisation of its technology and innovation by utilising its mid-to-late stage companies growth programme—the Global Accelerator Programme (Gap), providing these tech companies with the knowledge, market access and skills needed to scale and commercialise their products and services by becoming investment-ready.

"Mranti will leverage 4IR - enabling technology by focusing on the commercialisation of the technology. Priority is given to technologies involving blockchain, robotics, sensor technology, advanced materials and drones, among others.

"This is where companies and participating technologies need to have prototype systems ready to be demonstrated in a real environment. In this regard, research, development, commercialisation and innovation, will be intensified, to harness the potential of advanced technology," said Mranti CEO Dzuleira Abu Bakar, in a statement.

Mranti Gap is poised to embark on another journey to plan, propose, and problem-solve for innovators and bright-eyed entrepreneurs through a refreshed approach, which will be incorporating a thematic focus centering around three high potential industries – medical and healthcare, business and financial services, as well as water and food. This narrowed focus will allow the programme to address the unique challenges and requirements of each sector, which were selected in support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation framework, the 10-10 Malaysian Science, Technology, Innovation and Economic (MySTIE) —a plan designed to spearhead the country's socio-economic development aiming to create five unicorn local startups by 2025, and the government's strategy to accelerate the nation's adoption of technology and innovation as outlined in the 12th Malaysia Plan.

Aiming to provide companies with a conducive environment to learn and grow, this year, the Mranti Gap will be providing innovators with unlimited access to specialised and dedicated infrastructure support, coaching as well as a platform to carry out pilot testing.

Specially curated to accelerate the growth of both local and global companies, the programme is designed to prepare businesses to be future-proof and stay ahead of the competition. The programme also provides a strong industrial focus from industry-specific partners and mentors, all of whom are experts with decades worth of experience in their respective sectors.

From access to living labs for prototyping and testbed environments, to collaboration opportunities with relevant players within the Mranti ecosystem, the accelerator programme provides innovators and companies with the necessary facilities and outlets to scale and commercialise their technology.

Along with accelerating growth, the participating companies will also be exposed to corporates, investors and receive market access in their technology commercialisation journey.

"Wanting to expand the business on a global scale is a natural next step for entrepreneurs and business owners once they have found success locally. However, many companies, despite having brilliant ideas and solutions, lack the know-how and expertise to scale and grow. Without the right platform, ideas are just ideas.

"Through Mranti GAP, we provide our community of researchers and innovators with the right platform for ideas and purposeful innovations to thrive and make an impact," added Dzuleira.

Mranti is currently in the process of vetting and will be announcing the selected companies for each thematic track by the first week of July.

The cohort will run from August to September, 2022 with a dedicated session to present to ecosystem players scheduled for October.

Launched in 2017, Gap's mission is to accelerate the growth of scalable start-ups from around the world looking to expand in the Asean market. Over the years, the programme has evolved into a trusted platform for mentoring, regional collaboration and partnership, and exclusive access to route-to-market partners. To date, Mranti GAP has positively impacted more than 174 market-ready start-ups and has garnered a total of USD 83.26 million throughout their first five cohorts.

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