Start-up Accelerator Programme

What is an Accelerator Programme?

An accelerator programme is a support programme designed specifically for early-stage, growth-driven start-ups. Accelerator programs usually provide intensive and time-limited business support for allies of start-ups with the aim to hasten the progress of getting the start-ups ready for investment, typically a lot faster compared to conventional incubators.

The programme typically involves the participation of the founders and their key members and the program will add value to the start-up companies by accessing and validating the ideas, position in market and potential of growth.

Given the benefit of being able to accelerate the progress of growing the business faster, most start-ups enter into an accelerator programme for these main reasons:

• Access to capital and funds;
• Mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and investors; and
• Networking opportunities with like-minded peers and industry leaders.

Accelerator programme usually runs for a fixed duration, typically between 3 to 6 months. By the end of the programme, the participants are given the opportunity to pitch their ideas on Demo Day to investors.

How do Start-up Accelerator Programme Work?

The accelerator programme is helpful to start-ups as it adds value to the company via validation of ideas, validation of market and validation of growth. Moreover, the accelerator model also has some distinctive features that set it apart from other approaches to start-up investment or incubation in terms of scrutiny in application and more intensive training and support for the applicants. Generally, applicants can expect these typical features from an accelerator programme:

• A highly selective admissions process;
• A focus on cohorts or classes of start-ups rather than individual companies;
• Mentoring or other business training; and
• Intense and time-limited support (usually lasting only between 3 and 12 months).

Depending on the basis of structure and objective, accelerator programme may be funded by venture capital investors, public bodies or even large private corporates. Some are more industry focus and there has been a growing trend in accelerator programme which focuses on supporting technology-based or digital start-ups.

The participation into this programme involves a small team of founders per start-ups where the programme encourages a high degree of peer-to-peer learning so that every participated founder can learn from each other in similar settings and circumstances. Mentoring from experienced and seasoned entrepreneurs also plays a significant role throughout the programme as these mentoring and training will prepare the founders to ace in their own game. The provision of funding, where is involves the exchange for equity sometimes, a workspace, facilitated networking and educational seminars or workshops are some of the common services that will be provided during the programme too.

The Origin of Accelerator Programme

Accelerator Programme has been around all over the world for a period of time. The first accelerator was Y Combinator (2005), started in Massachusetts, followed by TechStars (2006), SeedCamp (2007), AngelPad (2010), Startupbootcamp (2010), Tech Wildcatters (2011), several accelerators of SOSV, and Boomtown Boulder (2014). With the growing popularity and acceptance for the programme in the United States, Europe has seen an increase in accelerators as well to support the growing start-up ecosystem in their home country. In Europe, the first accelerator programme was started by Accelerace (2009) in Denmark, followed shortly by Startup Wise Guys (2012) in Estonia. 

Forbes has also reported a significant growth of Corporate Accelerator programmes (sponsored by established organizations but follow similar principles) since 2010 in different parts of the world, including Malaysia. Corporate Accelerators are often subsidiaries or programmes of larger corporations to act like start-up accelerators.

Government Start-up Accelerators in Malaysia

Accelerator can be either privately or publicly funded and cover a wide range of industries. In Malaysia, there are currently 3 government-funded accelerator programmes available, namely Global Accelerator Programme by MRANTI, Selangor Accelerator Programme by SIDEC, RAVe Accelerator by MyNEF, and MYStartup Accelerator Programme by MOSTI.

1. Global Accelerator Programme (GAP) by MRANTI 

GAP by MRANTI (Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation) is a government-funded Accelerator Programme tailored for both local and international start-ups with an ambition to expand in the ASEAN market. It is a 2 months thematic accelerator that focuses on expediting the growth of companies to scale and commercialise products and services by being investment-ready.

Requirements to join:

• Highly scalable start-up with a strong business model;
• Start-up that is looking to expand in the ASEAN region;
• Incorporated as a Sdn Bhd/Pte Ltd and in operation for more than 1 year; and
• With a team of 2-3 members who must be fully committed during the Programme.

2. Selangor Accelerator Programme (SAP) by SIDEC 

SAP is a structured 3-month programme that aims to assist start-ups in the early stage, defined as start-ups that have not gone for Series A funding. The SAP wishes to help these budding start-ups in polishing not only their product and business, but their core team as well, through workshops and mentors that will share knowledge, experience, and advice that will help the teams with their soft skills and pitching styles as well.

The SAP also acts as a gateway for start-ups to prepare themselves for the final demo day. During the final demo day, the Top 5 will stand a chance to win from a cash prize pool of RM50,000.

Preferred Industry:

• Agritech
• Greentech
• Smart City (Smart technologies and data analysis)
• Fintech
• Healthtech

Requirements to join:

• Incorporated in Malaysia;
• An early stage (pre-seed or seed) start-up established less than 3 years;
• Have an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) or Beta version of their offering;
• Able to commit two members to join the programme (Two co-founders, or the founder and a core member); and
• Able to commit to the 3-month long programme.

3. RAVe Accelerator by MyNEF 

RAVe Accelerator is a 12-week intensive Accelerator Programme run by New Entrepreneurs Foundation (myNEF). The Programme focuses on creating a core catalyst for Bumiputera ICT Companies to drive and contribute to the growth of Malaysia’s ICT industry. RAVe has curated an experienced pool of mentors and coaches to ensure that each venture that is accelerated is investor-ready at the end of the Programme.

MyNEF is a not-for-profit organization established back in 2013 with the support of Government of Malaysia and industry players. Throughout the years, MyNEF has worked with various start-up ecosystem players and stakeholders in Malaysia and Southeast Asia in activities and programs targeted towards tech-based start-up development and promotion. MyNEF prioritizes filling the gap in the entrepreneurship development ecosystem through exploration of tech applications in various sectors.

4. MYStartup Accelerator Programme by MOSTI 

MYStartup Accelerator Programme is a 6-months accelerator under the initiative of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). It focuses on supporting and bringing more value to start-ups by giving them world-class assistance and guidance with exclusive mentors, valuable workshops with seasoned experts and scaling their businesses via regional market expansion and investment opportunities.

Requirements to join:

• Incorporated in Malaysia;
• A technology start-up with a scalable nature. The business model should be scalable and able to grow exponentially in the long term;
• Either in a stage of MVP or revenue-generating condition;
• Looking to expand regionally and globally.

5. ScaleUp Malaysia

ScaleUp Malaysia is established in October 2019 with the philosophy in building businesses that have high revenue growth and a path to profitability, under a model called Pegasus model. This programme aims to invest time, experience and money in Malaysian scaleups poised for growth and regional expansion. 

Condensed in an intensive 3-month programme, the organization team will work side by side with the start-up companies to develop the right strategy and model and then start curating investors and partners for the companies to secure their next round of funding to execute those plans. The team shall act as the invisible management team, the potential investors and also the partners on this journey.

ScaleUp Malaysia is having MaGIC (Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre) as the C3 programme partner and Quest Ventures and Indelible Ventures as the main funding partners.

Private Sector Start-up Accelerators in Malaysia

A private or corporate accelerator is a start-up growth program sponsored by private sector or corporates for corporate innovation purposes. Unlike regular start-up accelerators initiated by Government or Government related bodies, they may offer office space, and engage start-ups in a more meaningful way like pilot programs or proof of concepts with start-ups.

Corporate accelerators are created to allow private corporates to engage with start-ups and VC (Venture Capital) to help them scout and acquire start-ups in the future. Apart from that, it is also used to engage employees, foster innovation culture, scout for talent, and to explore new business models.

1. Corporate Accelerator Programme by NEXEA 

The Corporate Accelerator Programme is led by NEXEA and co-organised with leading start-up ecosystem partners in Malaysia. The programme offers investments, mentoring, grants, and government support to start-ups and have successfully funded over 35 companies in Malaysia. Backed former entrepreneurs, CEOs and industry experts as mentors of the programme, many of these are also Angel Investors who want to contribute to the ecosystem and support these early stage companies.

Requirements to join:

• A Malaysia-based company;
• Technology start-up with a scalable business model and able to grow exponentially in the long term;
• Of a disruptive nature and the solution provided should be 10x better than the current marketed solution; and
• Have the potential to scale significantly in revenues in the span of 5-10 years.

Duration: 

The Corporate Accelerator Programme typically runs in 2 phases for 5 months.

• Phase 1: Selected start-ups are able to participate in orientation, mentoring sessions, various workshops, and pilot marketing. All the Phase 1 start-ups will participate in the final selection for the Phase 2 Programme. 
• Phase 2: All final selected start-ups will continue their mentoring sessions and participate in the Demo Day where there will be a final presentation with Angel Investors, Corporates and Media.

Start-ups that successfully receive investment during Phase 2 can expect funding of anything from RM50,000 up to RM 250,000.

2. Alpha Accelerator by 1337 Ventures 

1337 Ventures is a Venture Capital (VC) firm in Malaysia focused on early-stage start-ups. In collaboration with Leet Academy, it organises a quarterly start-up Accelerator Programme called Alpha Start-ups to help early-stage start-ups to find product-market fit. The Programme generally is a 10-day commitment spread over a 5-week period. It consists of live webinars, self-paced learning sessions, and small group mentoring sessions.

Currently, 1337 Ventures has an ongoing weekly pitch on Tuesdays consisting of a panel of mentors from 1337 Ventures as well as members from its network of Angel Investors. Start-ups can get funded with up to RM50,000 through this programme.

Requirements to join:

• Must be based in Malaysia or serve the Malaysian market; OR
• Must have at least one Malaysian co-founder, regardless of the market served or geographic location; and
• Technology- or innovation-enabled business at an early stage with a scalable business model and a high growth strategy.

3. Iterative

Iterative is a YC-styled accelerator fund founded by co-founders of Decide.com (acquired by eBay) Hsu Ken Ooi and Brian Ma. With full focus on Southeast Asia, Iterative runs a 3-month Accelerator Programme which aims to support start-ups in developing their ideas, connect with investors in Southeast Asia and Silicon Valley and eventually guiding the start-ups in developing the ideal pitch that will resonate with investors.

To date, Iterative companies have raised US$133 million in capital with 58 companies invested in by Iterative. The community has grown big too with 126 founders in the Iterative community currently.

Iterative funds companies in batches, which runs twice a year on rolling basis, and each company receives US$150,000 in funding. Upon admission, the Iterative team will work closely with the start-ups to validate their ideas and execute growth strategies. Start-ups will also have access to a valuable network of mentors, peers and investors through a series of events and workshops. The Programme will conclude during a Demo Day, where start-ups present to a select audience to help kickstart their fundraising efforts.

4. WatchTower & Friends 

WatchTower & Friends identifies emerging entrepreneurs and interesting start-ups and rapidly turn them into start-ups and companies that find the necessary revenue model and funding. The accelerator programmes come with two short programmes i.e. SCALe and S5D. 

SCALe (Start-up Campus Accelerator Lite) is a condensed 3-day Accelerator Programme, designed specifically for university and college students with a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Offered free of charge, the Programme aims to instil excitement to launch tech-related start-ups and to establish prospective entrepreneurs and ideas.

Start in 5 Days (S5D) is an intensive 5-day Programme for business starters or idea thinkers. Held over 5 productivity-focused days, seasoned entrepreneurs who have already experienced their start-up journeys and business coaches with proven success rates will lead participants through this immersive hands-on Programme that will prepare them for the challenging world of entrepreneurship.

Generally, the programme aims to:

• Confirm that the idea is bankable;
• Check participant entrepreneurship DNA;
• Identify specific start-up needs; and 
• Help build a business plan and perfect the investor pitch deck.

5. Sunway iLabs Super Accelerator 

Sunway iLabs Super Accelerator is a 1+3 months accelerator programme designed to take start-up to the next level. Selected start-ups will have access to markets, mentors, and fund. The top 20 start-ups will be selected for a 1-month pre-accelerator, of which only the Top 5 will be qualified for the investment and pilot projects with Sunway through the next 3-months accelerator. 

Qualified participants will have access to 56 investors, partners and businesses as well as 15 pilots in the Sunway ecosystem. Moreover, start-ups can get funded with up to RM100,000 investment through this programme. Investment will be split into two tranches of RM50,000 where the first tranche is received after pre-accelerator pitch day and the second tranche will be received after accelerator demo day depending on milestones achieved.

Preferred Industry:

• Edutech
• Digital Health
• Smart Cities
• Agrifood Tech
• Retail tech
• Fintech

Requirements to join:

• Malaysia registered company with Sdn. Bhd. (open to start-up located outside of Malaysia, but preference will be given to start-up who are based and operates in Malaysia);
• Able to fully commit during the programme period;
• Have market ready MVP or commercialised product/service;
• With market growth potential; and
• Has synergy with Sunway Group.