Open to all Malaysians, the Programme aims to catalyse a pipeline of entrepreneurs for the nation

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani today launched the Khazanah Nasional Entrepreneurship Outreach (“KNEO”) programme at the closing of the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2017 (“KMF 2017).

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

KNEO comprises multiple phases – Application, Selection, Incubation, Acceleration, and Demo Day – over 28 weeks, with submissions open from 3 October 2017 to 27 November 2017 via the programme’s website at www.khazanahneo.com.my.

Selected teams will have the opportunity to learn from renowned industry experts ranging from traditional businesses to highly scalable tech solutions to social enterprises; be mentored by corporate leaders from major companies, successful start-up founders and other business leaders; strengthen their business fundamentals, go-to-market and monetisation plans; as well as obtain lessons, new ideas and insights.

Upon selection to the Acceleration phase, each team will receive mobilisation funding of RM20,000, in exchange for a 2% stake in their startup to be undertaken by Khazanah’s accelerator partners. The top three finalists on Demo Day will be awarded RM30,000 each.

Tan Sri Dato’ Azman Hj. Mokhtar, Managing Director of Khazanah, said: “A major component of Khazanah’s mandate is to help build capacity and develop human capital for the nation. Entrepreneurship and innovation are key drivers of the economy, and through this programme, we hope to unearth talent with innovative and scalable ideas, and help them realise those ideas. In line with the Bumiputera Empowerment Agenda (“BEA”) where Khazanah is the ongoing secretariat for Government-Linked Companies (“GLCs”), the programme will ensure significant and meaningful participation by Bumiputera entrepreneurs.”

KNEO is organised in partnership with three accelerators, namely 1337 Ventures, Code Ar.my and Watch Tower & Friends.

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

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