Penang, 15 December 2021 – A first-of-its-kind digital collaboration was inked between federal agency Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Penang government agency Digital Penang and ecosystem accelerator Beyond4.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony was held at Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang among the three parties with a unified goal to grow the digital economy and talents for Malaysia and Penang. The agreements will promote innovative approaches and collaborations in digital trade, encourage ideas and mentoring, support funding opportunities, and to address challenges by digitalisation.
MDEC is the agency under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia leading the digital transformation of the economy for 25 years. MDEC aims to enable a progressive, innovation-led digital economy and will continue to lead Malaysia’s digital economy forward towards becoming a globally competitive digital nation, anchored on innovation, sustainability and shared prosperity, firmly establishing Malaysia as the Digital Hub of ASEAN.
“Further adoption in the areas of AI, IOT, Blockchain and Robotics & Automation Systems will provide new means for startups to develop new business solutions for the market. The collaboration between MDEC, Digital Penang and Beyond4 signals another step forward in uplifting the Penang startup ecosystem through federal, state, and private collaborations.
The sharing of resources will help startups expedite ventures and reduce go-to-market lead time, bringing us closer towards establishing Malaysia as the digital hub of ASEAN and achieving the goals of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL),” said Mahadhir Aziz, CEO, MDEC.
Digital Penang began operations in April 2020 to accelerate efforts to capture opportunities in the digital economy and promote a digitally engaged society. Digital Penang brings to life the Penang 2030 vision of a family-focused, green Smart State. The journey of transformation will focus on driving digital adoption amongst the community, more data-driven governance, a diverse talent pool for entrepreneurship and investment, and a resilient digital infrastructure to sustain a liveable environment.
“Acting as a digital enabler and accelerator for the state of Penang, our ambition is to support the government in its Penang 2030 vision to strengthen the digital economy for the state. Through our partnership with MDEC, we plan to integrate federal initiatives to spur the local digital economy and strengthen the national network of ecosystems. We are also thrilled to have Beyond4 onboard to develop young professionals to shape and develop innovative solutions in our digital transformation journey”, said Tony Yeoh, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Penang.
Beyond4 as an enabler of the digital ecosystem, will inject neutral, non-competing, open vendor ecosystem that specialises in accelerator platforms on multiple industry verticals for the post digital era. Beyond4’s objective is to drive digital transformation as a value exchange to foster synergy among partners to innovate and collaborate through multi-tier accelerator platforms throughout Malaysia.
“We always support the accessibility of digital innovation for all. Today, everywhere we look, the technology industry is undergoing a digital paradigm shift that impacts businesses of every sort. With this profound transformation comes an unprecedented opportunity to deliver solutions offering greater value to the industry players, businesses and corporates. We will be investing between RM1 million to RM5 million to execute this ambitious project nationwide. The BEYOND4 HUB @WCOE for learning, training, upskilling and accelerator programmes is our 2nd Hub. The 1st BEYOND4@HLX learning, training and accelerator institution is headquartered in KL. BEYOND4 will continue to identify, accelerate and incubate talents” stated S.T Rubaneswaran, CEO of Beyond4.
