KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is exploring opportunities together with co-working space providers to expand Malaysia Digital Hub outside Klang Valley starting next year, said its chief executive officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood.
She said this year, the corporation already exceeded its target of having three digital hubs in Kuala Lumpur and it is time to expand the footprint of the hub to provide more access to tech startups outside of the capital city.
“We have a target of establishing three this year but we already got four.
“We are not looking at a number to chase for but what we are looking for is to enrich the community, so we want to make sure we have this four to become stronger in a sense that not only bigger but richer community - mentoring, corporate partners, funding and talent ecosystems.
“We are looking at expanding outside of Klang Valley early next year and varies, not only startups but also corporate customers as it provides scallability.
“We will definitely need one in Penang, Johor, also exploring in Sabah nad Sarawak,” she told reporters after the announcement of MDEC’s collaboration with Axiata Digital here today.
MDEC’s Malaysia Digital Hub provides startups and tech entrepreneurs the connections and dynamic workspace to achieve rapid growth.
It also offers incentives for growth to startups, investors, global tech companies, accelerators and talent builders to help businesses achieve scale.
The hub aims to provide opportunities and support such as market access, IP protection, access to investors and talent upskilling, to help entrepreneurs develop and grow their business right here in Malaysia.
There are four of these hubs established in Kuala Lumpur today, exceeding MDEC’s target of three.
They are Co., APW in Bangsar, and Common Ground and Worq in Damansara.
Meanwhile, Axiata Digital, the digital services arm of Axiata Group Bhd, is extending its Application Programming Interface (API) platform to Malaysian businesses as a gateway into the regional marketplace across its footprint countries in Asean and South Asia.
Collaborating with MDEC via its Malaysia Digital Hub initiative, the extension of the Mobile Internet Fulfilment Exchange (MIFE) platform will enhance regional market access for Malaysian businesses consisting of domestic and global tech companies.
In line with MDEC’s catalytic role in driving Malaysia’s transition towards a developed digital economy by 2020, the collaboration opens up a secure, fast, and a cost efficient way for Malaysian-based digital and online businesses to compete in the high-growth regional digital space.
Axiata Digital’s platform allows for faster customer engagement, and secure payment processes by enabling billing via existing pre-paid or post-paid accounts, SMS notifications, experience username and password free user authentication and login.