We organise learning expeditions in Kuala Lumpur, the new gateway to Asia, to empower executives to stay ahead in a fast-moving globalised world.

The digital economy contributes for 18.2% to the GDP in Malaysia (2016) and plans to reach 20% by 2020. Kuala Lumpur hosts important startups in the Southeast Asia region such as Grab (the Uber of Southeast Asia), iFlix (the Asian Netflix), or KFit (a booking app for fitness, beauty & spa services). It might surprise you to find out that in 2014, 4 out of 5 of the top listed tech companies in Southeast Asia were actually started by Malaysians or a Malaysian-listed company. These startups have rapidly grown in the region. According to the Digital Evolution Index from the World Economic Forum,  Malaysia is one of the countries with its digital landscape evolving the most rapidly.  With a robust startup ecosystem, supportive government, affordable prices and one of the best budget airlines in the world (AirAsia), Kuala Lumpur positions itself as the ideal gateway to Asia.

The national bank, Bank Negara, has recently approved four firms to operate within its “regulatory sandbox”, marking a significant milestone in the growth of fintech in Malaysia. Companies operating in the sandbox will be allowed to commercially launch their services albeit within limits set by the central bank and under close watch by the regulator. Most banks in the country have launched their Fintech programme, releasing APIs and providing startups with test-bedding opportunities and mentoring. Hong Leong Bank officially kickstarted its HLB Launchpad in March 2017, Maybank continued with its 4th edition of Maybank Fintech and CIMB Bank has hired Olivier Crespin, who launched DigiBank, DBS’s mobile only bank in India and Indonesia, to head its newly set-up standalone unit dubbed CIMB Fintech.

Malaysia’s startup ecosystem benefits from the support of its government that promotes innovation through a number of plans and incentives.  The government has invested a lot to build a positive infrastructure and fund early stage startups. It has strived to equip entrepreneurs with the right startup skills via its education portal MaGIC Academy, expose entrepreneurs to other ecosystems like Silicon Valley and big markets within ASEAN, and accelerate startups via a global platform such as the MaGIC Accelerator Programme (MAP) and 500 Startups’ Distro Dojo.