THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF PENANG I4.0 SEED FUND STREAM #3

SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG

AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF PENANG I4.0

SEED FUND STREAM #3

26 February 2021

Chief Minister’s Office, Level 28, KOMTAR

 

Dato’ Dr Muhammad Farazi Johari

State Financial Officer

Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon

Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang

Dato’ Loo Lee Lian

Chief Executive Officer of InvestPenang and

Chairperson of the Penang i4.0 Seed Fund Evaluation Committee

Members of the press,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good afternoon to all of you.

With the goal of cultivating qualified high potential early-stage technology start-ups and to enhance the growth of Penang’s tech ecosystem, I am pleased to be here today to announce the launch of Penang i4.0 Seed Fund Stream #3.

Following the fund rewards of Stream #1 and Stream #2 in 2018 and 2019 respectively, the State has awarded a total fund of RM3 million and successfully propelled the growth of 27 start-ups. For Stream #3, the State Government intends to build, attract and retain talents in the data-driven digital era and stimulate the tech start-up ecosystem with a total fund allocation of RM1 million.

The funding scope of i4.0 Seed Fund #3 covers product enhancement, marketing and branding activities and technical, product or design hires with the focus on the Internet of Things (IoT), hardware and software integration, digital consumer, advanced manufacturing and other tech-based activities.

Start-ups that meet the criteria that have been set may apply for funding up to RM100,000. Non-financial support such as mentorship, capacity building programs and potential linkage opportunities will also be provided to fund recipients.

The i4.0 Seed Fund program is managed by InvestPenang and, as such, applications can be made through InvestPenang’s website and social media platforms during the 1-month application period, starting from today to 26 March 2021.

The evaluation committee, comprising industry captains and successful start-ups, is responsible for evaluating the proposals and candidates and providing final approval recommendations to members of the steering committee.

Members of the evaluation committee include:

• Chairperson: Dato’ Loo Lee Lian (CEO of InvestPenang)
• Chan Kee Siak (Founder & CEO of Exabytes Network)
• Radin Ikram (Principal, BizCoach Solutions)
• Ober Choo (CTO of Cytron Technologies)
• Charles Tang (Founder & CEO of eSolved MSC)
• Howie Chang (Founder & CEO of Forward School)
• Ng Sang Beng (CEO of Aemulus)
• Lau Kean Cheong (CEO of Inari)
• Chuah Choon Bin (Executive Chairman of Pentamaster)
• Amar Chhajer (Country Head of UST Global)

Members of the steering committee are: Dato’ Dr Muhammad Farazi Johari (State Financial Officer), Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon (Special Investment Advisor to Chief Minister of Penang) and myself as the chairperson.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, the economic and business environment is undeniably fraught with uncertainties. However, among the many challenges lie opportunities for the development and advancement of homegrown technology companies that are agile and innovative. As such, in line with the Penang2030 vision to upgrade our economy and empower our people, the Penang State Government will remain committed and persistent in our efforts to nurture and promote local start-ups.

Towards this end, the State Government, via InvestPenang, has outlined a series of mentoring and coaching programs known as G27, exclusively for the i4.0 Seed Fund recipients, realizing the State’s objective of fostering start-ups through financial support and providing value-added services that are equally imperative.

Penang is proud to house a number of locally based start-ups which have achieved renowned status in Southeast Asia. Companies like Cytron, DeliverEat, Exabytes, Instant-E-Store and Piktochart have reassured Penang’s captivating aspects in the start-up ecosystem. We hope that the capital awarded in i4.0 Seed Fund, coupled with the ongoing non-financial support can be the steppingstones for more Penang-powered companies to excel.

I am therefore pleased to announce the establishment of i4.0 Seed Fund Stream #3 of RM1 million for 2021 funded by the State Government for tech start-ups. I am also pleased to assure the State’s continuous support of the i4.0 Seed Fund initiatives in the near future.

Thank you.