Arus Oil & Cult Creative are the winners for 1337 Ventures Alpha Startup™ Digital Accelerator 2021

The Alpha Startups Digital Accelerator 2021, organised by 1337 Ventures with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Amanz as the main partners, has been officially concluded. The live Demo Day was held on Facebook on 22^nd May 2021, seeing final pitches from the Top 11 startups and hearing some deep and challenging questions from our experienced judges/potential investors; Bikesh Lakhmichand, Founding Partner of 1337 Ventures; Yvonne Yong Chuan Yin, Head of Malaysia Digital Hubs and Corporate Innovation of MDEC; Ikhwan Nazri, CEO & Head of Creative of Amanz Media and Syed Haizam Jamalullail, Managing Director of Tuas Capital Partners.

“Alpha Startups™ started 7 years ago with Cohort 1 and now we’ve just concluded Cohort 36 where we announced 2 new startups we’re investing into and kicked off cohort 37 shortly after that. We’re excited to see such diverse participation from local startups and even Malaysians from overseas that follow our programmes live online” said Bikesh, Founding Partner of 1337 Ventures.

In this cohort, we saw an increase in female founders by 50% from last year's intake and 50% of the cohort are working on their startups full time from ideas borne out of the MCO. Testament to what a great Top 11 is seeing some of the teams being accepted into other accelerator programmes, receiving funding and offers for funds shortly after Demo Day.

“Alpha Startups™ has shortened the path-to-discovery for promising, up-and-coming startups. Through the program as well as 1337 Ventures' expertise, it filters startups using trusted methodologies, ensuring that participants have reached a certain degree of polish, making it easier for investors to look at quality potential investments at a glance,” said Ikhwan Nazri, CEO & Head of Creative of Amanz Media. He’s also happy to be part of this process, helping both the startup ecosystem and the investment community at large.

We would also like to congratulate the 11 teams making it to the finals, namely, Altum, Cult Creative, EjenKita, GoGerak, Hawkr, Arus Oil, OtoFacts, SparkFit, Supageneous.Asia, TrinityEco, and Usku Technologies.

“Alpha Startups™ is an effective platform for start-ups to showcase their innovative products and solutions. MDEC is proud to be a key partner of 1337 Ventures that accelerates the visibility and growth of Malaysia’s start-up ecosystem, in line with the goals of MyDIGITAL and towards positioning Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN,” says Yvonne Yong, the Head of Malaysia Digital Hubs and Corporate Innovation of MDEC. She would also like to congratulate the winners and participants.

“Privately-run accelerators are important in venture creation. Coupled with the government’s and MDEC’s resolve in creating a conducive ecosystem for startups in Malaysia, we are at the forefront of enabling potential disruptive tech for positive change, empowering the creation of our very own Unicorn, in line with the goals of MyDIGITAL,” said Gopi Ganesalingam, Vice President of Tech Ecosystem and Globalisation, MDEC.

The Winners

The chosen winners were Arus Oil and Cult Creative selected for their great ideas, strong founders and sound growth strategies. Our judges have commented that all 3-min pitches were delivered well and it has made judging tough to nail down the final 2 winners.

Cult Creative

Arus Oil (MyProtech Sdn Bhd) is a used cooking oil recycling platform that offers the best purchasing rates and timely collection services for used cooking oil from individuals, households or restaurants.

Cult Creative

Cult Creative is an all-in-one professional networking and resource app for ambitious creative individuals to easily connect, upskill and find work opportunities, to make themselves future-proof.

One of the judges has also shown interest in some of the finalist startups, Haizam the Managing Director of Tuas Capital Partners commented that “Quality of each of the finalists' 3-min pitch was very concise. This is a great group of candidates in ASDA 2021 and kudos to 1337 Ventures for organising. Us at The Hive Southeast Asia will be looking forward to getting to know more companies and perhaps investing and partnering with some as well”.

Alpha Startups™ Digital Accelerator (ASDA) is organized by 1337 Ventures & powered by Leet Academy, its education arm. Main partners include MDEC & Amanz Media. Supporting partners iTrain Asia, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Airtable.