Malaysia-based Naluri takes global leap to spark local dreams

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.

Hi readers,

Looking back, I never truly recovered from Covid-19. I contracted the disease in 2021 and while I seemingly got a “milder” variant, there’s the odd numbing pain on the right lung whenever I do the weekend long, slow distance training. A side effect of Covid-19, per the family doctor.

Then there was the fact that I gained weight while adopting a work-from-home routine that also effectively blurred the lines between work and play. Like many, my then employers never provided anything to ease me into the whole WFH gig. The only thing they gave me was a 20% pay cut while expecting the same output.

Things are much better these days. I have shed the weight and I’m fitter. I’ve gotten a better gig at Tech in Asia (no, my bosses aren’t behind me as I type this), and there’s the in-house counseling that comes with it. I have yet to use this option though.

It would have been great if my then bosses had at least forked out for a service like Naluri. Even with the pay cut, I would probably have benefitted from the service and at least survived pandemic-induced lockdowns better. But such is life for the average Malaysian.

Healthtech firm Naluri is in the right space. Southeast Asia is a hotbed for chronic noncommunicable diseases, from obesity to diabetes to heart ailments.

But getting a buy-in from corporates remains tough because it all boils down to cost. It’s equally costly or costlier when an employee is down for the count. And we have yet to talk about mental health issues, which are on the rise.

Naluri’s journey has been bumpy, given the layoffs last year. Operating in Malaysia also doesn’t do the firm any favors as there’s a huge funding gap.

If anything, the one attitude that Naluri has – which many Malaysian startups should take note of – is the fact that the firm’s chiefs quickly realized the need to draw foreign capital in order to grow.

Naluri is back to basics now. But if it keeps up the attitude of going global, it might just be Malaysia’s next big thing – hopefully in a good way.

— Emmanuel Samarathisa, journalist at Tech in Asia

Top stories this week

Image credit: Timmy Loen

1️. Despite setbacks, this Malaysian healthtech firm eyes EBITDA breakeven by year-end
Naluri, which offers healthcare services for employees, tightens its belt in a move to tap into growth funding.

The best investment on your own brand