NanoMalaysia signs MOA with 10000StartupsIndia and Foodie Box Group

NanoMalaysia Berhad entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with one of India’s leading technology incubator, 10000StartupsIndia and Malaysian-based Foodie Box Group to kickstart a nanotechnology commercialisation initiative involving Malaysian start-up and SME partners, that is expected to accelerate and scale-up more than 1,000 India based start-ups, SMEs, and micro SMEs.

In line with Malaysia’s aspiration to become a technology exporter nation, the tripartite MOA will entail NanoMalaysia Berhad (NMB) initiating technology transfer activities through 10000StartupsIndia to enable Indian start-ups, SMEs, and micro SMEs in sectors such as clean energy, textile, urban farming, healthcare and social enterprise to adopt and deploy nanotechnology in their product offerings. The nanotechnology intellectual property rights (IPR), products, and solutions deployed are jointly developed and co-owned by NanoMalaysia Berhad and its suite of SME partners here in Malaysia.

As part of the agreement, NMB will develop customised business models to match relevant solutions from Malaysia’s nanotechnology start-ups and SMEs to adapt to India’s unique technology ecosystem and participate in the incubation process for their start-ups, SMEs and micro SMEs. This approach intends to accelerate the growth of NMB’s early and growth stage high-tech enterprises.

10000StartupsIndia is India’s biggest community platform funded by Silicon Valley investors. Their goal is to hand-hold and accelerate start-ups; small and medium companies particularly belonging to manufacturing and services sectors; and homegrown businesses founded by women entrepreneurs originating from smaller cities in India.

Foodie Box Group is a tech start-up that focuses on food, technology and social enterprise. It recently received the award for Most Innovative Food Packaging Manufacturer in Malaysia from the Asia-Pacific Business Awards 2020.

NanoMalaysia Berhad Chief Executive Officer, Dr Rezal Khairi Ahmad said: “We are excited to be partnering with India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and to be given this opportunity to value build their start-ups, SMEs and micro SMEs. This is one way that Malaysia can focus on becoming an innovation hub and exporting our technology – directly supporting our High-Tech Nation’s primary target. It is also the fastest way for Malaysian companies to have an equity in companies and business activities abroad and expand our global technological footprint driven by clear outcomes.”

In 2020, India saw a staggering growth in the number of start-up hubs in comparison to that of 2015. In a matter of 5 years, the number of start-ups in every sector has seen a rise of 40 – 45 per cent. Malaysia as well has seen an encouraging growth in its SME and start-ups in the sphere of nanotechnology in the period of 2016 to 2020 with close to 100 early and growth stage companies participating in NanoMalaysia’s commercialisation and certification programme.

10000StartupsIndia Chief Executive Officer, Leenesh Singh said: “The use of nanotechnology and its potential in upscaling diverse sectors in India remains largely untapped. There is a huge demand for new technologies to disrupt the more traditional businesses such as the textile industry – where application of nanotechnology can be used to develop new materials or innovate production methods.

With this partnership, we are confident that Indian start-ups, SMEs, and micro SMEs will be able to accelerate their growth and enhance their product to market offerings.”

He added that this initiative is expected to contribute up to 1 per cent of India’s GDP.

Foodie Box Group Chief Executive Officer, Jimmy Lee said: “This partnership is beneficial to both countries as it provides a wide scope of opportunity for Malaysian SMEs to invest their talent and technology in growing adjacent markets and will empower start-ups, SMEs, and micro SMEs in India by introducing them to a revolutionary technology as a value add for their business.”

NanoMalaysia Berhad CEO, Dr Rezal added: “This is a first step for us as we see more emerging markets opening up to facilitate technology transfers through international strategic business partnerships such as this one that will undoubtedly set the stage for reviving small and medium sized enterprises by empowering them with new technology skills, both regionally and globally.“

He shared that this initiative is a starting point for the company, and it would look at other markets such as Bangladesh and the Middle Eastern region for similar partnerships.