The challenge is a partnership with MDEC to promote the ecosystem development of IoT solutions among companies to spur the Malaysian digital economy.
KUCHING: The Maxis IoT Challenge, which was launched in May this year, has received overwhelming response from entry submissions, following roadshows in Penang, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur throughout the month of June.
The challenge is a partnership with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to promote the ecosystem development of IoT solutions among companies to spur the Malaysian digital economy. It is the first of many joint initiatives that Maxis is undertaking to foster innovation for all Malaysians.
Tapping into some of the creative and passionate minds Malaysia has to offer, a shortlist of 20 potential winners have been selected, and will now be invited to a technical workshop, where they will collect their IoT Challenge Kit to create their respective prototypes.
Categories that made it to the shortlist are Smart Cities with nine finalists, Smart Manufacturing with four finalists, and Smart Agriculture with seven finalists.
“When we introduced the Maxis IoT Challenge, our goal was to provide a platform for untapped talent to think about new ways to solve real life business problems using smart solutions, particularly in NB-IoT – whether it’s to make cities safer, improve yield efficiency for plantations, or improve manufacturing processes – there is an immense amount of opportunities in this technology,” said Paul McManus, chief enterprise business officer of Maxis.
“At Maxis, we remain committed to shaping and accelerating the benefits of IoT adoption for all Malaysian businesses, and championing Industry 4.0 initiatives in the country in line with the government’s digital economy agenda.
“I would like to thank all the applicants who have submitted their ideas, as well as congratulate those who have been shortlisted. We wish them the best of luck in the final round. These innovative ideas today could spark waves of positive change and impact entire communities in Malaysia in the future.”
The Challenge is themed “Innovate our Tomorrow”, where the public were invited to unlock the potential of NB-IoT to solve real business problems in the areas of Smart Cities, Smart Manufacturing and Smart Agriculture.
It offers cash prizes of RM15,000, RM10,000 and RM5,000 for the Top 3 winners respectively, and potential seed funding of up to RM100,000 as well as mentoring support for promising pitches.
The final round will be held in August, where the finalist will pitch their prototypes to a panel of judges.
Over the last few months, Maxis has been reinforcing and accelerating its IoT agenda. It launched the first commercial NB-IoT service in Malaysia in April, with the activation of NB-IoT networks in selected areas within key IoT market centres, including Cyberjaya, Penang, Kuching, Putrajaya, Johor Bahru, and KLCC.
The launch opened up the opportunity for businesses to deploy industrial IoT applications to form new data streams, enabling actionable insights by connecting simple devices such as sensors.
As Vodafone’s preferred IoT partner in Malaysia, Maxis is leveraging its existing collaboration with the company’s market leading platform and global experience to deliver market-proven technology for businesses in Malaysia looking to implement NB-IoT services in their operations.