The RHB Xcelerator program, which have been launched by Malaysian lender RHB Banking Group and Malaysian venture capital (VC) firm 1337 Ventures, has announced 11 finalists that will compete at its first Demo Day.
1337 Ventures said in a statement on Thursday, the RHB Xcelerator program aimed at nurturing tech and startup ecosystems while driving digital adoption in the Malaysian financial scene.
From sustainability and data intelligence to inheritance planning, it said the top finalists are solving some of the biggest problems and opportunities in the financial scene today.
“RHB is pleased to witness many innovative startups of high calibre at the pitch event. We are thrilled to be taking things to the next level, especially to future-proof these 11 shortlisted startups which have caught our attention and represent a niche and compelling segment in Malaysia,
“We believe that there is enormous potential for future collaboration and joint success,” said Ryan Teoh, Chief Group Strategy and Innovation Officer, RHB Banking Group.
“The startups in RHB Xcelerator had an incredible opportunity to collaborate with RHB teams across a range of divisions, and we are excited to see the possible outcome that may result from these synergies,” he added.
Bikesh Lakhmichand, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of 1337 Ventures, said this is the beginning of what the firm hopes will be a long and fruitful partnership between startups and corporations.
“We believe that by fostering these interactions, we can create even better opportunities for innovation and growth in the startup ecosystem,” he added.
According to the statement, the 11 finalists are currently designing their proof of concept, assisted by RHB and 1337 Ventures.
After completion, the chosen startups may have the chance to work with RHB to advance their proof of concept and at the same time, may receive prospective financial support
as well as digital credits from 1337 Ventures.
1337 Ventures is an early-stage VC firm focused on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in Malaysia and South East Asia.
Established in 2012, the firm is Malaysia’s first accelerator program.
Pioneering the Design Thinking Methodology and Design Sprints in Malaysia, 1337 Ventures has utilised its learning to accelerate the growth of over 1,000+ startups from five different countries.
The firm has launched accelerators for multinational corporations (MNCs) and government linked companies (GLCs) such as FWD, NTIS, Bank Negara Malaysia, Khazanah Nasional, Telekom, Digi, MDEC, CIMB, RHB, and Maybank, to name a few.
Its sister company, Leet Capital, is an equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform.
Leet Academy, its education arm, focuses to empower, educate and build resilient individuals through a series of workshops, mentorships, and networking events in the areas of design thinking, pitching and agile ways of work.
The 11 startups are:
Agiliux Cloud Insurance
Agiliux is on a mission to digitize and transform the commercial insurance industry by offering software for insurance brokers.
This is aimed at improving their internal efficiency and productivity and streamlining their interactions with carriers and re-insurers.
Alfie Tech Asia
Alfie focuses on alternative data intelligence. They specialize in using Alternative Credit Scoring (ACS) for microfinance.
ACS integrates behavioural, digital, and financial data points to predict the credit risk of a borrower.
Du-it
Du-it is dedicated to providing consumers with financial freedom and flexible payment options that cater to their budgets.
Customers are able to shop or enjoy the services they want, whenever they want, without paying top dollar.
Payment may be made in four equal, interest- free instalments.
Moby
Moby offers a "buy now, pay later" payment option so customers can have a more affordable shopping experience. There are up to six-month instalment plans and a 0 percent interest fee.
PayRecon
PayRecon is a top marketplace software provider in Malaysia.
They have the vision to make incredible yet high-quality information technology (IT) items and services to help individuals like small-and medium-sized business proprietors.
Using PayRecon’s multi-channel marketplace, sellers could easily manage their businesses on multi-channel marketplaces such as Lazada and Shopee.
Pewarisan
Pewarisan, meaning inheritance in Malay, provides digital solutions for Islamic inheritance planning.
Their offerings include succession planning and estate management.
Protos Labs
Protos Labs is a cyber-insurtech company founded by former Booz Allen cybersecurity leaders; it is the first in Asia to provide full-service support for a cyber insurance product.
Protos Labs help insurers to better price their cyber insurance policies while offering active protection of policyholders to prevent cyber incidents
Swipey
Swipey supports Malaysian businesses in managing their corporate prepaid cards, expenses, invoices, and more through a simplified dashboard.
The Woke Company
Woke Investing mentors successful investors through structured four-week programmes.
The programme is result-oriented and conducted by experienced investors and investment managers.
They also provide stock market analysis to inform investing decisions.
TrinityEco
TrinityEco provides sustainable reporting products and services for assets, both physical and digital.
Their artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform, Trivity, helps create reports that encourage collaborations and financing between companies and their corporate partners.
Vircle
Vircle (short for Visible Circle) is an app for parents and a card for kids that allows parents to give pocket money and teaches kids to save and spend responsibly.