THE PENANG I4.0 SEED FUND STREAM #4 Recognition Day
SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
AT THE PENANG I4.0 SEED FUND STREAM #4
Recognition Day
25 October 2022
PSDC Building, Bayan Lepas
Dato’ Haji Abdul Halim bin Haji Hussain
Penang State EXCO for Trade, Industry and Entrepreneurial Development
Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon
Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang
Dato’ Aziz bin Bakar
CEO of Penang Development Corporation
Dato’ Loo Lee Lian
CEO of InvestPenang and
Chairperson of the Penang i4.0 Seed Fund Evaluation Committee
Members of the Penang i4.0 Seed Fund Evaluation Committee
Penang i4.0 Seed Fund Stream #4 Cohorts,
Industry partners,
Members of the press,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon, everyone.
I am very pleased to be here today for the Penang i4.0 Seed Fund Stream #4 Recognition Day. Congratulations to all the i4.0 Seed Fund Stream #4 cohorts and welcome to our Penang i4.0 Seed Fund family. I am hopeful that you can be a step closer to the next level along your start-up journey by banking on the awarded funds.
Penang i4.0 Seed Fund was initiated in 2018 by the Penang State Government as a means of offering funding to qualified high-potential technology start-ups, with the aim of enhancing the development of Penang’s technological ecosystem. Collectively, 2018, 2019 and 2021 saw 37 qualified companies awarded with an impressive total fund reward of RM4 million.
Today’s event marks the fourth round of fund award and the state government has dedicated RM1 million towards this round’s recipients. Penang takes great pride in having a role in the growth of your businesses and we look forward to witnessing how you will put your funding to excellent use.
After an extensive and diligent evaluation of all those who applied, I am delighted to announce that 12 qualified start-ups are being selected and they will receive funds ranging from RM50,000 to RM100,000. The funds will be utilised with the aim of propelling the start-ups’ growth and attaining commercialization.
The 12 start-ups are involved in various specialities, which include Education Technology, Digital Solutions, Internet of Things (IoT), Clean Technology and Financial Technology.
Congratulations to all of you!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Fostering innovations among the people has always been one of the state government’s top priorities. With the technological innovations that spawn new industries, it is a palpable sign that tech adoption is no longer elusive, especially among the start-up ecosystem where we are seeing rising number of establishments. Having said that, I would like to thank both the Steering and Evaluation Committee for your careful consideration and due diligence in selecting the best of the best.
Penang is proud to house a number of locally-based start-ups which have achieved a rather renowned status in Southeast Asia. In particular, Food Market Hub, a start-up that runs a cloud-based app which enables food and beverage establishments to automatically purchase and track their supplies and inventory, has successfully raised US$8.5m from investors. Aside from this, Loob Ventures, a private venture entity by Loob Holding Sdn Bhd, is also making a strategic investment into Malaysia’s lifestyle and digital media company Good Foodie Media. These achievements have reassured Penang’s captivating aspects in the start-up ecosystem.
Thriving in this fast-paced technology transformation journey, navigating from existing prototypes to commercialization and subsequently impact at scale requires concerted efforts. The Committee and InvestPenang as the secretariat, will have to work closely with the start-ups in achieving the defined milestones. More importantly, we pledge to enhance Penang’s position as a global innovation hub.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Penang’s industrialisation this year, it is envisaged that Penang’s five decades of manufacturing excellence is poised to drive the State to the next level, especially with the significant uptake of emerging technologies among the people, with start-ups being at the forefront of such.
I would like to take this opportunity to share that the vibrant industry that we have in Penang did not emerge overnight.
The facilitation support for Penang’s start-up ecosystem has seen substantial growth in recent years, underpinned by the concerted efforts from all stakeholders. We always believe that the rightful adoption of technology is capable of generating positive impacts towards our society.
Hence, we are pleased to be able to play a part by spurring innovations with this grant, realising the Penang2030 Vision of upgrading the economy, empowering the people and enhancing quality of life.
Once again, congratulations to all the i4SF Stream #4 cohorts, well done and best wishes for the continued success in your journey!
Thank you.