Sunway iLabs announces 4th cohort of its collaboration with Japan’s JETRO

• Japanese startups have access to mentorships, Sunway business units
• Meet over 50 VCs, angels, entrepreneurs & corporates during M’sia trip

Sunway Innovation Labs (Sunway iLabs), the innovation arm of Sunway Group and Sunway University has selected five startups to go through the Digital Transformation Acceleration Programme organized in collaboration with the Japanese External Trade Organisation Kuala Lumpur (JETRO Kuala Lumpur), a government related organization that promotes trade and investment between Japan and Kuala Lumpur.

Sunway iLabs explains that the collaboration provides Japanese tech startups direct access to the Malaysia ecosystem and to leverage on Sunway’s ecosystem to accelerate growth and potential. Startups will have access to one-to-one mentorships by industry experts within and beyond Sunway, meet with potential business partners, attend workshops and also connect with Sunway’s 13 business units and Sunway’s ecosystem.

“Through the past three cohorts and five success cases with Sunway iLabs, we are sure that this acceleration program has been recognized as a good entry-point into the Malaysia ecosystem for Japanese startups. We will definitely do our best to create fruitful results through this 4th cohort by closely supporting Japanese companies,” said Yuhei Enguchi, director of Jetro Kuala Lumpur.

One success story from the previous cohorts is Toy Eight, a Japanese Edutech startup that builds AI assessment tools. They partnered Sunway University for a research project that aims to address socio-educational issues in Southeast Asia. Toy Eight has also established their presence in Malaysia by setting up the TOY8 Playground in Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur.

The top five selected are:

1. 80&Company Inc: Evangelizing game based learning to develop learners’ lifetime ability
2. AI inside Inc: DX support for companies and organizations by digitizing analog data using AI and utilizing digital data
3. BoostDraft Inc: AI Drafting Assistant tailored for Legal Documents that is integrated with Microsoft Word  
4. Credit Engine Inc: A one-stop lending and debt-collecting solution for fin-tech/financial institutions to increase the efficiencies of lending and debt collecting process.
5. RevComm Inc: MiiTel is the self-coaching tool designed for companies who are doing sales/CS/support via phone or Zoom

“We see the synergies between the startups that have been shortlisted and also their potential to grow in the Southeast Asia region. The technology and solutions will enhance business processes as well as improving lives of the community here,” said Matt van Leeuwen, chief innovation officer of Sunway Group and director of Sunway iLabs.

The five selected startups recently visited Sunway City to connect with the local ecosystem, increasing the efficiency to localize products and services that appeals to the Malaysia market in half the time and cost through collaborations. Throughout the three days, the startups were connected to over 50 venture capitalists, angel investors, entrepreneurs, and corporates.

In a few months, the startups will be pitching to local and regional VC funds, investors, industry leaders and corporations for follow-on funding or collaboration.

“We are excited to have the Japanese startups to test their solutions in Sunway City to find the product market fit in our local market and we believe we will be able to provide the support they require to grow across Malaysia and Southeast Asia,” said Dr Melissa Foo (pic), head of Sunway iLabs Ventures.