2020

The Sun Daily

PETALING JAYA: ScaleUp Malaysia, an accelerator which focuses on growth stage companies in Malaysia, has partnered Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures to invest and scale the regional growth of top Malaysian startups that will bring in a foreign direct investment deal worth US$1 million (RM4.16 million).

To qualify for the Cohort 2 programme launched today, scaleups must be operating on business models that have the propensity to disrupt existing markets or have solutions that are able to navigate future challenges and take advantage of opportunities brought about by the current economic climate.

Twenty-four companies shortlisted from the Cohort 2 applications will begin their accelerator journey in October 2020 before presenting their solutions in front of the investment committee at the end of the program. As part of the partnership, ScaleUp Malaysia Cohort 2 powered by Quest Ventures will invest at least US$60,250 in up to 12 of these companies.

“In this second cohort, we want to empower solutions that tap into the buy-in of the digital economy and prime them through our rigorous syllabus designed to take local companies to the global stage. Our partnership with Quest Ventures will enable our scaleups to quantum leap their growth, access adjacent markets and unlock a wealth of economic possibilities through value creation, needed now more than ever with our collapsing global economy brought about by Covid-19,“ said ScaleUp Malaysia senior partner Dr V. Sivapalan.

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Digital News Asia

Leading accelerator, ScaleUp Malaysia, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with Quest Ventures, a Singapore-based regional venture capital firm that has committed to invest US$1 million (RM4,150,000) into scaling the regional growth of up to 12 Malaysian startups.

To qualify for the programme, scaleups must be operating on business models that have the propensity to disrupt existing markets or have solutions that are able to navigate future challenges and take advantage of opportunities brought about by the current economic climate.

24 companies that have been shortlisted from the Cohort 2 applications will begin their accelerator journey in October before presenting their solutions in front of the Investment Committee at the end of the programme. As part of the partnership, ScaleUp Malaysia Cohort 2 powered by Quest Ventures will invest at least USD$60,250 (RM250,000) in up to 12 of these companies, an increase from Cohort 1 where 10 companies received an investment of US$48,000 (RM200,000) each.

According to James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, “Beyond the traditional investment role of VCs, we see it as our tech ecosystem duty to drive a speedier adoption of the Digital Economy. Our partnership with ScaleUp Malaysia will enable us to support the top tech talent teeming in Malaysia and provide necessary and timely support to power their disruptive businesses to break into the post-pandemic emerging Asia markets.”

“In this second cohort, we want to empower solutions that tap into the buy-in of the digital economy and prime them through our rigorous syllabus designed to take companies to the global stage. Our partnership with Quest Ventures will enable our scaleups to accelerate their growth, access adjacent markets and unlock a wealth of economic possibilities through value creation, needed now more than ever with our slowing global economy brought about by Covid-19,” said Dr V. Sivapalan, senior partner of ScaleUp Malaysia.

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e27

Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures officially announced a partnership with ScaleUp Malaysia to invest in and scale the growth of Malaysian startups. The deal brought in MYR4.1 million (US$1 million) in Foreign Direct Investment to develop Malaysian startups.

The programme welcomes startups that are operating on business models that “have the propensity to disrupt existing markets or have solutions that are able to navigate future challenges and take advantage of opportunities brought about by the current economic climate.”

In total, 24 companies shortlisted from the second cohort’s applications will start the programme in October, which is culminating in the presentation of their solutions in front of the Investment Committee.

As part of the partnership, the programme will invest at least US$60,250 in up to 12 of these companies.

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Taipei Times

Founders of the Singaporean food ordering app Oddle, which offers choices from Michelin-starred restaurants to bubble tea concoctions, are working with an adviser to exit the company, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The start-up, cofounded by Jonathan Lim (林澤延), Pua Yong Xiang (潘永祥) and Jeremy Lee (李俊輝), has reached out to potential suitors to gauge interest, said the people, asking not to be named as the process is private.

Sale documents show that Oddle has raised total funds of S$5 million (US$3.7 million) over the past three years and is projecting a gross profit of S$8 million for the fiscal year ending March next year, the people said.

Online food ordering from people stuck indoors has taken off since the outbreak of the COVID-19, boosting revenues at companies such as Oddle.

Deliberations are at an early stage and the founders could decide to keep the business, the people said.

The firm declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

The start-up counts SPH Ventures, RB Investment, Fidelis Capital, Wavemaker Partners and Quest Ventures among its backers, according to its most recent filings with Singapore regulators.

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Business Today

ScaleUp Malaysia has announced that they have entered into an exclusive partnership with Quest Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital firm to invest and scale the regional growth of top Malaysian startups.

The partnership with Quest Ventures will bring in a Foreign Direct Investment deal worth US$1,000,000 (RM4,150,000) to develop and grow Malaysian startups. To qualify for the Cohort 2 program which was also launched today, scaleups must be operating on business models that have the propensity to disrupt existing markets or have solutions that are able to navigate future challenges and take advantage of opportunities brought about by the current economic climate.

24 companies shortlisted from the Cohort 2 applications will begin their accelerator journey in October 2020 before presenting their solutions in front of the Investment Committee at the end of the program. As part of the partnership, ScaleUp Malaysia Cohort 2 powered by Quest Ventures will invest at least USD$60,250 (RM250,000) in up to 12 of these companies.

According to James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, “Beyond the traditional investment role of VCs, we see it as our tech ecosystem duty to drive a speedier adoption of the Digital Economy. Our partnership with ScaleUp Malaysia will enable us to support the top tech talent teeming in Malaysia and provide necessary and timely support to power their disruptive businesses to break into the post-pandemic emerging Asia markets.”

“In this second cohort, we want to empower solutions that tap into the buy-in of the digital economy and prime them through our rigorous syllabus designed to take local companies to the global stage. Our partnership with Quest Ventures will enable our scaleups to quantum leap their growth, access adjacent markets and unlock a wealth of economic possibilities through value creation, needed now more than ever with our collapsing global economy brought about by Covid-19,” said Dr V. Sivapalan, Senior Partner of ScaleUp Malaysia.

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Berita Harian

KUALA LUMPUR: ScaleUp Malaysia, melancarkan program ScaleUp Malaysia Cohort 2 dan mencari 24 syarikat pemula (startup) tempatan berpotensi untuk dibimbing dalam program berkenaan.

ScaleUp Malaysia akan bekerjasama dengan Quest Ventures, firma modal teroka yang berpangkalan di Singapura, bagi menjayakan program yang memasuki tahun kedua penganjurannya.

Rakan Pengurusan Quest Ventures James Tan, berkata kerjasama itu akan membawa masuk urus niaga pelaburan langsung asing bernilai AS$1 juta (RM4.15 juta) untuk membangunkan dan mengembangkan syarikat pemula Malaysia dalam program berkenaan.

“Untuk layak menyertai program ini, syarikat pemula perlu beroperasi berdasarkan model perniagaan yang mempunyai kecenderungan untuk mengganggu pasaran sedia ada atau mempunyai penyelesaian yang dapat menghadapi cabaran masa depan dan memanfaatkan peluang daripada iklim ekonomi semasa,” katanya di sini, hari ini.

James berkata, sebanyak 24 syarikat yang disenarai pendek daripada permohonan Cohort 2 akan memulakan perjalanan mereka pada Oktober sebelum mengemukakan penyelesaian mereka kepada jawatankuasa pelaburan pada akhir program.

Peserta perlu mendaftar sebagai sebuah syarikat Malaysia dan akan disenarai pendek berdasarkan empat kriteria utama — penjanaan pendapatan, keupayaan untuk menunjukkan produk yang bersesuaian dengan pasaran, potensi produk atau perkhidmatan dengan prospek pertumbuhan yang besar dan kemungkinan pengembangan global.

Sementara itu Rakan Kanan ScaleUp Malaysia, Dr V Sivapalan, berkata kerjasamnya dengan Quest Ventures akan membolehkan syarikat pemula tempatan untuk melonjakkan pertumbuhan mereka.

“Selain itu, mereka juga berpeluang untuk mengakses pasaran negara lain menerusi rangkaian yang dimiliki oleh Quest Ventures,” katanya.

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The Edge

ScaleUp Malaysia has entered into an exclusive partnership with Quest Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, to help top Malaysian start-ups scale their businesses regionally. The partnership will bring in a foreign direct investment deal into Malaysia worth US$1 million (RM4.15 million) to develop and grow Malaysian start-ups.

Only companies registered in Malaysia qualify and they will be selected based on four key criteria — revenue generation, ability to demonstrate product-market fit, potential of highly scalable products or services with large growth potential and possibility of global expansion.

From the list of applicants, 24 companies will be shortlisted to begin their accelerator journey in October this year, before presenting their solutions in front of an investment committee at the end of the programme. As part of the partnership, the programme, powered by Quest Ventures, will invest at least US$60,250 (RM250,000) in up to 12 of these companies.

“In this second cohort, we want to empower solutions that tap into the buy-in of the digital economy and prime them through our rigorous syllabus designed to take local companies to the global stage. Our partnership with Quest Ventures will enable our scale-ups to quantum leap their growth, access adjacent markets and unlock a wealth of economic possibilities through value creation, needed now more than ever with our collapsing global economy brought about by Covid-19,” said Dr V Sivapalan, senior partner of ScaleUp Malaysia.

James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, said the partnership with ScaleUp Malaysia will enable them to support the top tech talent in Malaysia and provide necessary and timely support to power their disruptive businesses to break into the post-pandemic emerging Asia markets.

“Beyond the traditional investment role of VCs, we see it as our tech ecosystem duty to drive a speedier adoption of the digital economy,” he said.

Sivapalan added that they are currently looking for technology investments, such as healthtech, and encourage tech companies to apply. “If you’re an impact company that also [uses] technology, we will encourage you to apply as well.”

Touching on the programme’s modules and syllabus, ScaleUp Malaysia’s managing partner Andre Sequerah said during the press conference that the syllabus has taken into account the Covid-19 pandemic.

He explained that the Cohort 2 programme is a fundamental business programme and based on all the best practices they have experienced over the years when coaching companies. However, the pandemic has brought in new variables, which have been added to the latest programme.

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The Straits Times

Sale documents show that Oddle has raised total funds of $5 million over the past three years and is projecting a gross profit of $8 million for fiscal year ending March 2021, the people said.

Online food ordering from people stuck indoors has taken off since the outbreak of the Covid-19, boosting revenues at companies such as Oddle. Deliberations are at early stage and the founders could decide to keep the business, the people said. The firm declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

The start-up counts SPH Ventures, RB Investment, Fidelis Capital, Wavemaker Partners and Quest Ventures among its backers, according to its most recent filings with Singapore regulators. The company’s order management system is used by some 3,000 brands in more than 10 countries, its website show.

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Bloomberg

Founders of Singapore food ordering app Oddle, that offers choices from Michelin-starred restaurants to bubble tea concoctions, are working with an adviser to exit the company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The startup, co-founded by Jonathan Lim, Pua Yong Xiang and Jeremy Lee, has reached out to potential suitors to gauge interest, said the people, asking not to be named as the process is private. Sale documents show that Oddle has raised total funds of S$5 million ($3.7 million) over the past three years and is projecting a gross profit of S$8 million for fiscal year ending March 2021, the people said.

The startup counts SPH Ventures, RB Investment, Fidelis Capital, Wavemaker Partners and Quest Ventures among its backers, according to its most recent filings with Singapore regulators. The company’s order management system is used by some 3,000 brands in more than 10 countries, its website show.

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The Sunday Times

Sharing the sentiments of chamber leaders that Singaporeans are not lacking in technical ability, in areas such as science, banking and information technology, Mr Jeffrey Seah, partner at venture capital firm Quest Ventures, highlights that the reason for Singaporeans not landing these jobs is the mismatch in cultural fit and mindset.

“Singaporeans are not good at being comfortable in uncomfortable situations,” says Mr Seah.

But the inability to fit into the culture of certain firms may be an issue that is out of the hands of local job seekers, he suggests.

He cites a hypothetical example where a small tech company starts with hiring three foreigners with skill sets not available among local job seekers in Singapore.

During the company’s growth stage, they will hire non-tech staff in areas like finance and sales, which is also when the company’s culture and mindset take root.

“This is also when the balancing of hires (between locals and foreigners) should be actively encouraged,” Mr Seah says.

If by the time the company has 20 employees, and the super-majority are from one ethnicity or a foreign country, it would be difficult for the company to hire others, like Singaporeans, who need to adapt to the existing work culture. But importantly, it would also be difficult for policy intervention to enforce a hiring ratio without affecting the company’s operating culture, he adds.

In cases of tech start-ups that tend to involve a lot of teamwork, that cultural fit is integral, Mr Seah emphasises.

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