ScaleUp Malaysia unveils 20 startups in third cohort

ScaleUp Malaysia, an accelerator focused on growth-stage firms, has selected 20 startups for its fourth cohort.

Photo credit: ScaleUp Malaysia

The selected companies hail from verticals including edtech, fintech, media, manufacturing, cybersecurity, foodtech, and ecommerce.

Launched in October 2019, ScaleUp Malaysia focuses on local growth-stage companies. It provides participants with training programs that cover finance, human resources, marketing and sales, technology, product, and strategy.

Venture capital firms Quest Ventures from Singapore and Indelible Ventures from the US have joined the cohort to support shortlisted scale-up companies.

The companies selected for the Quest Ventures track are: Jazro, Madcash, Traitily, GuruInovatif, SpareXHub, Nanka, VireServe, OpenAcademy, Hav.life, PantangPlus, J8 Autism Athletics, Graze Market, Solaku, Wa Sushi, and Biztech.asia.

Meanwhile, Midwest Composites, Howuku, Q3 Payment, GoCloud, and Neptrix have been selected for the Indelible Ventures track.

Here are the startups:

• SpareXHub, an ecommerce marketplace for auto spare parts that brings together automotive distributors, independent workshops, and car owners.
• Biztech.asia, a cross-media and marketing platform that enables business-to-business marketing for clients via scheduled video and podcast content, as well as networking and corporate gaming events.
• GuruInovatif, a platform that provides complete online resources for professional development of teachers.
• Hav.life, a platform that provides rewards for fitness goals.
• Howuku, an online platform that offers all-in-one web optimization and analytics services as well as user experience testing tools to help businesses visually understand their visitors and improve conversion rates.
• Aoikumo, a software-as-a-service provider for the beauty and medical aesthetics industries.
• Nanka, a food startup that produces plant-based meat from jackfruit to provide a better alternative to highly processed fast-food dishes.
• J8 Autism Athletics, a fitness firm that provides services catered specifically to the neurodiverse community, equipping them with the skill sets to socially assimilate and partake in family physical activities.
• Jazro, a robotics education company that aims to develop digital talents in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with specially curated content for students between the ages of five and 17.
• Madcash, a digital platform that tracks the impact of funding an interest-free microloan given to unbanked women micro-entrepreneurs.
• Midwest Composites, a designer and manufacturer of advanced and bio-based composites for clients that want to use futuristic materials in their products.
• Neptrix, a provider of enterprise resource planning tech to small and medium-sized businesses, helping them convert manufacturing into smart factories that are more productive and cost-efficient.
• OpenAcademy, an education platform that provides non-theory based programs, training, and content by industry practitioners.
• PantangPlus, a web-based booking platform for traditional post-natal therapy, serving pregnant mothers who are looking for therapists or confinement ladies.
• Q3 Payment, a platform that provides standardized connected payment solutions while working with preferred payment acquirers in the region.
• Graze Market, a social enterprise that aims to bridge the gap between food waste and hunger by ensuring imperfect fresh produce from farmers and distributors find a market at a discounted price to the public.
• Solaku, an online marketplace for deliveries, blue-collar services, and other offerings focusing on underserved towns in Malaysia.
• Traitily, a digital recruitment platform that leverages behavioral assessment for employers to filter a candidate’s fit to the job function.
• VireServe, a cybersecurity and IT solutions provider that has developed a tool to help freelancers and consultants perform compliance consulting and act as lead generation to service providers including tech principles and system integrators.
• Wa Sushi, a food and beverage ecommerce company that focuses on Japanese cuisine.