Promoting Entrepreneurship – what can we learn from Malaysia

A few weeks ago, I was in Malaysia to conduct a training programme in Entrepreneurship in the biotech industry. While there, I witnessed a contrasting view of entrepreneurship promotion in Malaysia. For local media coverage on the training programme click here and here.

In places like Silicon Valley and Cambridge, UK, there is a huge ecosystem of research institutes, start-ups, established companies, VCs, experienced entrepreneurs and not to mention world class universities. With such a thriving ecosystem, new companies and entrepreneurs get the necessary support such as funding, advice and even potential employees. If such an ecosystem exists only partially or doesn’t exist at all, how to promote start-ups that are key to creating jobs and competitiveness?

In Malaysia, the government plays the role of incubator, investor and facilitator for many young companies. Particular focus has been given to IT with an emphasis on multimedia and biotech focusing on plant/agri biotech. Two companies have been formed to support these initiatives. The Multimedia Development Corporation focuses on promoting ICT and Malaysia Biotech Corporation focuses on biotech.

For other countries in South-East Asia that want to plug into the knowledge economy, the Malaysian initiatives serve as trend setters. Whether they follow Malaysia’s lead or not is a different thing though!

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