Startups showcase business propositions to a crowd of 300

The Khazanah Nasional Entrepreneurship Outreach (“KNEO”) programme came to a successful completion today with a Demo Day where 30 startups from the programme showcased their business propositions to a crowd of about 300, comprising angel investors, ecosystem players, institutional partners, budding entrepreneurs and representatives from Khazanah-linked companies.

KNEO is an initiative by Khazanah Nasional Berhad (“Khazanah”) to help unearth entrepreneurial talent among Malaysians, while equipping them with training and industry information via a series of bootcamps and accelerator programmes. The programme is an expansion of Project Brainchild, an initiative that was kick-started in 2015 to develop entrepreneurial talents within Khazanah and its investee companies.

The KNEO Demo Day marked the end of an intense 28-week programme comprising multiple phases, where participating startups were provided with the opportunity to learn from industry experts ranging from those involved in traditional businesses to social enterprises, and undergo mentoring by successful start-up founders and other business leaders. The programme also provided them with lessons, insights and ideas to strengthen their business fundamentals, as well refine go-to-market and monetisation plans.

Launched in October last year, KNEO received more than 700 submissions from across the country. From the initial submissions, 86 teams were selected to attend bootcamps as part of the next phase of the programme. Subsequently, 30 startups were shortlisted and went through a 12-week acceleration programme conducted by KNEO accelerator partners, namely 1337 Ventures, Coder Ar.my and Watchtower & Friends (“WTF”). The 30 startups also receive mobilisation funding of RM20,000 each.

At the KNEO Demo Day, all 30 startups had the opportunity to present their ideas, solutions and businesses to potential investors at their respective booths. In addition, 12 of them were shortlisted to pitch in front of a panel of judges to vie for an additional RM30,000 in seed grant to be awarded to three startups selected by the judging panel.

Tengku Dato’ Sri Azmil Zahruddin, Deputy Managing Director of Khazanah, said: “We saw a great diversity of ideas, as well as passion and commitment to succeed during throughout the KNEO programme. The participants are testimony to the entrepreneurial drive and talent that Malaysia possesses, and this bodes well for the future. We hope that the KNEO programme has helped to unearth Malaysian talent who will ultimately contribute towards the continuing progress and development of the country.”

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For more information on KNEO, visit www.khazanahneo.com.my