With one of the world’s fastest-growing tech ecosystems, it is no wonder that Southeast Asia’s startups collectively attracted investments totalling US$8.2 billion last year amidst a global pandemic.
Malaysia alone is poised to capture US$11.84 billion investments in the digital economy over the course of a five-year plan spanning 2021 to 2025. Having managed to raise a total of US$226 million in 2019 alone, the country’s vibrant startup ecosystem encompasses a full range of verticals including fintech, e-commerce, SaaS, blockchain, and many more.
Much of this has unsurprisingly been driven by the pandemic. We are seeing record rates of digital adoption, with 40 million new internet users in the last year alone. With working from home gradually becoming the norm, people are turning to digital solutions, which offer convenience and safety, especially amidst heightened concerns about hygiene. In Southeast Asia, one in three internet users tried new digital services last year solely because of the pandemic.
For global startups, Malaysia is the perfect gateway into Southeast Asia
Malaysia is located smack in the middle of Southeast Asia, with easy access to neighbouring countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, all of which similarly boast burgeoning tech ecosystems.
The country is also multiethnic and multilingual, with more than 137 languages being spoken. This includes major languages like English, Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu, and Tamil, which gives homegrown startups an edge when they eventually expand internationally. Malaysia’s diversity also reflects its position as a microcosm of Southeast Asia. Global startups can use Malaysia as a platform for understanding different consumer behaviours and have a taste of what it is like to establish a presence in the rest of the region.
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Furthermore, Malaysia boasts a very supportive regulatory environment and government agencies that actively spearhead initiatives to advance the local tech ecosystem, uplifting domestic startups while welcoming global ones. This includes programmes that help international startups localize and understand the Malaysian market, as well as programmes that build up the country’s tech talent pool.
How StixFresh is changing the game
One of the homegrown success stories is foodtech startup StixFresh. The company’s primary product is simple: a sticker that keeps fruit fresh for up to fourteen days.
But the mission behind it is much larger. By prolonging the shelf life of fruit, many positive externalities are generated. Not only does this prevent food waste, but it also reduces associated costs, such as shipping and logistics costs, and ultimately contributes toward tackling real-world, large-scale challenges like overpopulation, hunger, and the spiralling cost of food. StixFresh’s solutions also contribute to the circular economy approach where useful material, once seen as waste, is recycled back into the supply chain.
StixFresh’s all-natural and safe sticker is coated with a mix of sodium chloride and beeswax. This mixture slows down the ripening process, which then increases the shelf life of fruit by three to four times and improves its quality, taste, and texture.
The company was established in Malaysia in 2017 after founder and chief executive officer Zhafri Zainuddin spent almost three years developing the sticker.
“We want to be an essential link that makes up the circular economy, not only from a national point of view, but from a global viewpoint,” said Zainuddin.
Their sticker currently works with fruit like apples, pears, avocados, oranges, and other citrus fruits. However, StixFresh acknowledges that Southeast Asia presents a different challenge due to the diverse species of fruit across the region, and are currently trying to combat this through innovation and research in their labs.
Also read: Building Malaysia’s fintech ecosystem
By tackling the issue of food waste, StixFresh is doing its part to make the world a little more sustainable, one step at a time.
“In order to understand fruit wastage, we have to understand how fruits are wasted,” said Zainuddin.
Typically, he shared, for every fruit we eat, another fruit gets thrown away. This happens throughout the fruit supply chain. For example, if a batch of fruit is infected with fungi from the farm and is transported together in a five-tonne lorry, the fungi might break out and cause the fruit to go bad, or the fruit might not meet retail aesthetics. The fruits then get thrown away, despite being edible. Such a situation could happen for up to 10 to 20 per cent of fruits being transported.
StixFresh’s technology is patented globally and certified by the United States Food and Drug Administration with a Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) certification and is the only such shelf extension technology in the world.
To date, 300,000 stickers have been purchased by Malaysia’s Department of Agriculture. StixFresh has also won multiple awards, such as the Best Malaysian Startup in Asia Rice Bowl award. The startup also clinched the top prize in the Lifestyle category during Gobi Partners’ Superseed II Championship.
Exploring Southeast Asia with the power of MaGIC
The startup will be working closely with the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) in order to develop its technology and innovation plans in the country.
“We look to leverage MaGIC’s expansive network to penetrate into industry players’ networks and establish win-win collaborations,” said Zainuddin.
MaGIC is an innovation and creative centre under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. Headquartered in Cyberjaya, MaGIC organizes programmes and initiatives that facilitate the development of Malaysia’s vibrant and buzzing tech ecosystem.
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Aside from uplifting local startups, MaGIC also helps global startups expand into Southeast Asia. One such programme is the Global Accelerator Programme, which nurtures global startups to investment-ready status. MaGIC also periodically opens applications to MyStartupHub (MSH), a soft-landing program for innovative global startups from all over the world to establish a business hub in Malaysia.
MSH enables MaGIC to assist startups in business set-up, talent recruitment, and vertical-specific market access via their network of partners including government agencies, corporates, and universities.
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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by MaGIC
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