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LaunchX, the university start-up accelerator programme to nurture Malaysia’s next generation of entrepreneurs, has successfully concluded its 2024 cohort on 26 August 2024, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s innovation landscape.
A nation-building initiative led by the Ministry of Higher Education, UTM, and Sunway Innovation Labs (iLabs Foundry), LaunchX is backed by Malaysia’s start-up ecosystem, including Antler, Artem Venture, Bawatana, Ficus Capital, Gobi Partners, The Hive SEA, Ignite Asia, Impact Circle, Kejora Capital, MAVCAP, MBAN, pitchIN, Reactor School, Scale Up Malaysia, Sunway Corporate Venture Capital, Cradle Fund, MRANTI, Digital Penang, Iskandar Investment Berhad, SCENIC, and TEGAS Digital Village and Digital Innovation Hub, etc., — this initiative collectively aims to nurture entrepreneurial talent and foster the development of high-quality, innovation-driven startups from university students across Malaysia.
LaunchX 2024 featured 116 student start-ups and 274 entrepreneurs from 43 institutions across 12 Malaysian states. After a competitive selection, 45 start-ups (40% acceptance) joined the 6-month programme, with 16 advancing to demo day to pitch for RM 50,000 in seed funding. The top five were PasarKraf by The Quack Movement, KuCHARGE, Volunti Connect, Robotron World, and DatoBulat Tech Lab.
Developing an entrepreneurial mindset in students and graduates is a key focus of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (Higher Education) 2015-2025. The Higher Education Entrepreneurship Action Plan 2021-2025 reinforces this by nurturing graduates capable of driving economic growth and competing in global markets. The Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) emphasises collaboration between universities, industries, and the government to strengthen entrepreneurship in higher education. The LaunchX initiative fosters student start-ups through workshops, mentoring and funding, supporting Malaysia's goal of making Kuala Lumpur a top 20 global start-up hub by 2030.
“LaunchX has been a game-changer for our startup. It provided invaluable market insights that aligned our vision with real-world needs. We learned the value of iterative prototyping, user feedback, and team dynamics. The programme refined our business model, pitching, and industry connections, while building the resilience and adaptability to overcome challenges,” said Mohamad Hazmi Hafizi, co-founder of DatoBulat Tech Lab, and a LaunchX 2024 participant.
Professor Dr. Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam, Provost of Sunway University, highlighted how university entrepreneurship can empower individuals to become agents of change, fostering equity by creating solutions instead of perpetuating problems.
Entrepreneurship transforms lives, and LaunchX leads this change by cultivating a holistic ecosystem that supports student entrepreneurs. Moving forward, LaunchX will continue to offer support through mentorship, industry networks, and access to markets and investors, ensuring these start-ups can overcome challenges and scale successfully.