POLICY DIRECTION Malaysia government has aspira�on in its latest Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital). In the roadmap Phase 3 : 2026-2030, strategy of high ease of doing business, where the government provides a highly conducive environment for businesses to start and operate, Malaysia target to achieve 5 unicorns company from this strategy. Startup ecosystem players in Malaysia driven by government including Malaysia Digital Economy Corpora�on (MDEC), Malaysian Global Innova�on & Crea�vity Centre (MaGIC) and Cradle Fund.
POST PANDEMICS COVID-19 During the pandemics COVID-19, startups and poten�al Unicorns are in the mood of the new mantra: ‘surviving the winter’. In adjus�ng to the new reality, startups need to immediately focus on playing short-term defense in manueavor this hard �me. This however, doesn’t stop regional and countries aspira�on in nurturing unicorns. Europe for example recently has started deploying the largest venture capital fund ever created in the region, in its latest a�empt to create health and deep-tech startups that will rival the U.S. and Asia.
ATTRACTIVENESS Why the Unicorn a�rac�ve for na�on growth? If we look at ASEAN level, we could tell that there is huge opportunity ranging from internet market, eCommerce, and poten�al growth of unicorn company. Having unicorns could serve as a role model for local start-ups and prove Malaysia ability in tech market. By having Unicorns, we expec�ng to see a ripple effect from founders or employees of the companies giving back to the ecosystem. Most of the world’s unicorns come from very large and homogeneous markets like the United States and China. So, its clear that the first and most important criterion is this large market opportunity, which due to its homogeneity makes it easier to sell products and services. Even Singapore with low popula�on compared to Malaysia had several unicorns like SEA Ltd, Grab, Razer and Lazada but they serve a wider Southeast Asian or global market.
SMART CITIES AS POTENTIAL NURTURING GROUND Poten�al of Smartci�es as Nurturing pla�orm Future iden�fied Jobs based on emerging applica�on of 4IR technologies, Cognizant report on 21 Place of the Future iden�fied 21 places around the world where the future is being built right now. The smart ci�es had a poten�al to be a pla�orm in nurturing Unicorn through its ecosystem and infrastructure readiness. Places that are hotbeds of innova�on and new ideas, will be places that people gravitate to, including affordability and social environment of the places. Part of the place men�on is Nairobi where it stand among the top three ci�es for tech startups in Africa, along with Lagos and Cape Town, according to Startupblink. Accelerator hubs such as Nairobi Garage are helping to create some of the region’s future digital unicorns. In Brazil, the crea�ve and entrepreneurial talent cul�vated at those offices has been a galvanizing force in São Paulo’s startup scene. As entrepreneurs leave the big-tech companies, they take with them the ins�tu�onal knowledge, rela�onships and skills to build their own. Vibrant ecosystem fostering the startup ac�vity. As a result, Lo�, Nubank, 99 and a handful of other startups have all reached unicorn status in the past two years alone.
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| Malaysia Smart City Outlook 2021 - 2022
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