UK-Malaysia Digital Innovation Programme

As part of the UK Government’s Asia Pacific Digital Trade Network (DTN)’s mandate to support UK Tech firms’ internationalisation in the APAC region and capitalisation of the burgeoning market opportunities in the region, the inaugural UK-Malaysia Digital Innovation Programme was launched by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner to Asia Pacific, Natalie Black CBE, alongside Andrew Mitchell CMG, Director General, Exports & UK Trade, DIT at London Tech Week 2022.

The Programme aimed to showcase how established UK digital solutions can help realise digital ambitions outlined in the MyDigital blueprint and the 4IR policy, and support the drive towards a fully digitalised Malaysian economy. The programme focused on four areas which will be key to the future of Malaysia’s Digital Economy: Food Security, Smart Cities, Circular Economy and Renewable & Efficient Energy.

As the delivery partner for the Programme, IoT Tribe connected UK digital tech businesses with leading Malaysian corporates. By aggregating complementary strengths and resources, the Programme sought to create opportunities for significant strategic commercial partnerships and investments. It also aimed to showcase the digital innovations from the UK tech sector, and emphasise the opportunities available for UK businesses to grow in Malaysia.

Demo Day

The Demo Day, hosted at Sunway Resort Hotel on March 20, 2023, was the culmination of the UK-Malaysia Digital Innovation Programme, where 14 of the UK’s most disruptive Net Zero startups were invited to showcase their technologies to Sunway Business Units and other key stakeholders in the Malaysian tech ecosystem.

The Demo Day featured keynote speeches from:

  • YB Rafizi Ramli, Malaysian Minister of Economy
  • Evan Cheah, Group Chief Executive Officer of Digital and Strategic Investments, Sunway Group
  • Natalie Black CBE, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for APAC, Department for Business and Trade

To complement the startup showcase pitches, the Demo Day also featured the soft launch of Sunway iLabs and a panel discussion on ‘Driving Net Zero Action & Scaled Adoption of Technologies in Smart Cities & Industries Across Malaysia’. The discussion involved:

  • Fabian Bigar, CEO, MyDigital Corporation
  • Chris Bush, Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Digital Trade Network, Department for Business and Trade
  • Raymond Siva, Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Investments Officer, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
  • Datin Ir. Nor Ziha Zainol Abidin, Head (Corporate Ventures), Strategy & Venture Division, Tenaga Nasional Berhad

The afternoon session of the Demo Day saw the startups conducting 1:1 meetings with Sunway’s Business Units to discuss areas of potential collaboration and establish potential pilots.

Solutions

  • Supply Chain Transparency & Traceability
  • Building Digitalisation & Decarbonisation
  • Smart Cities Surveillance
  • Carbon Footprint & Environmental Analytics
  • Cybersecurity for Supply Chain
  • Space Planning & Management

Testimonials

“It was a pleasure working with IoT Tribe’s team in the delivery of the inaugural UK-Malaysia Digital Innovation Programme. They have demonstrated a high level of entrepreneurial spirit and professionalism in the delivery of the programme. We see great value in working with ecosystem builders such as IoT Tribe jointly to achieve our ambitions in deepening our partnerships between the UK and Asia Pacific.”
Calvin Woo
Senior Trade Manager (Technology), Department for Business & Trade

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