Both startups expressed their excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the programme and their appreciation for Tegas’ support in making it possible.
KUALA LUMPUR (March 21): Two startups from Sarawak, GoBarber (Unimas) and Athena (Swinburne Sarawak), have been selected to join the Sunway Innovation Labs (iLabs) at Sunway University (iLabs Foundry) 2023 LaunchX programme.
In partnership with Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (Tegas) through its Tegas Digital Village and Digital Innovation Hub, this prestigious programme offers startups the opportunity to receive mentorship, funding, and resources to accelerate their growth and success.
“Tegas is proud to be the ecosystem partner for the 2023 LaunchX programme, providing essential mobility support to our local startups, in line with the Sarawak Post-Covid Development Strategy 2030.
“Congratulations to GoBarber from Unimas, and Athena from Swinburne Sarawak on being selected to participate in the programme,” said Deputy Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh, who is also Tegas chairman.
“As part of our partnership with Sunway iLabs, the flights and accommodation for GoBarber and Athena to join the launch event, physical workshop, networking session, pre-demo day and demo day will be covered by Tegas.
“I wish you all the best in your entrepreneurial journey ahead,” he added.
GoBarber is an application software of a platform between barbers and their customers to provide haircut services at the customer’s convenience. Athena is an immersive AR educational mobile game that covers environmental issues and raises awareness regarding endangered and extinct animals in Malaysia.
The founders of both startups expressed their excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the programme and their appreciation for Tegas’ support in making it possible.
LaunchX is a 3+2 months university startup accelerator programme that turns validated ideas into fundable startups. It is an equity-free, no-string attached
programme for budding entrepreneurs to help them grow and succeed.
The programme will run from March – August 2023 and is open to all university student entrepreneurs in Malaysia, particularly those with validated problem-solution fit, a prototype and alignment to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Selected participants will be receiving exclusive startup benefits worth up to RM100,000, investment opportunities, market access, and mentorships from key industry leaders and venture capitalists, and more through LaunchX.
LaunchX was first introduced as a pilot programme in 2022. The programme helped students to develop their business ideas and transform it into fully-functional business models with ensured product-market fit and allows teams a real opportunity to form their own company. The programme has produced 5 alumni namely, Greenbox, Kita, Homies, Opack and Hypocollect.