- Initiative aims to help firms expand growth, grow into global businesses
- Helps high-potential businesses and boosts Malaysia’s world ramping and development
Gerardo Salandra and Georg Chimel have a lot in common, most notably their participation in the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation’s ( MDEC ) Founders Centre of Excellence ( FOX ), a multifaceted program designed to promote the development of high-potential Malaysian based tech companies.  ,
Both of them are foreigners who are rapidly expanding world businesses from Malaysia. Both have received offers from different nations to move ahead from Malaysia, but both turned them down because they believe they have all the necessary infrastructure in place in Malaysia to support their businesses. And this was yet before FOX, launched in March 2023, came into the image.  ,
Salandra, from El Salvador, started his Business-to-Business Software as a Service ( B2B SaaS ) company in Hong Kong and then, deciding that being in Hong Kong was not going to help him achieve his dream of building a global company, picked Malaysia as his base.  ,
” I now had a few employees here, but I finally met some MDEC employees at a meeting and learned about the incredible service they offered to members called the Malaysian Tech Entrepreneurs Pass ( MTEP), through which I received a five-year work visa. I mean, five times? Nothing gives you a five-year card. That is enough time for me to create a business”, he said.  ,  ,  ,  ,
Contrary to Salandra, Chimel was now well-versed in Malaysia when he assumed the position of iProperty’s team managing director in the middle of 2010. After successfully completing the sale of iProperty to Australia’s REA Group, where he previously held the position of chief financial officer ( CFO ), Chimel now intends to establish his second property technology success as co-founder and executive chairman of Juwei IQI Holdings.  ,
With over 25 years of real estate expertise in Australia, Asia, and presently Malaysia, Chimel has seen a lot of government initiatives that aim to promote business growth, but FOX still impressed him. ” To set it clearly, this is like joining a top concierge service. Simply ask a problem and you get pointed in the right direction”, he says.  ,
Besides the concierge-like services that he feels is a striking feature of FOX, Chimel, who does a good bit of exploring, has noticed anything exciting about the effects of Wolf.  ,
When I say we were chosen to be a part of the program and explain how it works, he says, “people see us diversely.” Rabbit was established with the intention of assisting in the development of its businesses, which speaks to Malaysia’s desire to contribute more to the global digital economy. ” This opportunities Malaysia as an impressive state, in the eye of outside shareholders. And that rewards us”, he explains.  ,  ,
That change in perception even gives the country a social improve, acknowledges
( pic ), head of Digital Exports, MDEC. We are hoping to galvanise more businesses outside the country by using our efforts to help our FOX businesses become international businesses and finally to encourage unicorns to stay in Malaysia after they become extremely successful.
If the passionate comments from Chimel and Salandra is any indication, FOX, in this early period, seems to be pressing all the right buttons for its companies.  ,
It appears that the program thoroughly selects the businesses it needs to be assisting most. It continues to expand its mentoring work, overcoming initial disappointments with a lot of emails and messages until it succeeded in capturing Salandra’s focus and persuading him to sign up for the program.
Salandra reflects,” As a leader, I understand the need for regular self-improvement and development. But as a business leader, the emails, messages, names, and discussions never seem to stop. When I return to the office after this meeting, I’ll be greeted with a stack of things demanding my interest. But, when is there time to focus on specific growth”?
With some very proper partnerships with international players, MDEC appears to have captured the attention of owners and their senior management teams, a reality that MDEC has embedded into FOX.  ,  ,
One of these engagements, with Ernst &, Young Malaysia ( EY Malaysia ), even changed Salandra’s perception about consultants. You might think professionals are pricey and unable to handle business problems, but I would never have paid for them.
However, Salandra and his management staff have come to understand the value of consultants because of his encounter with EY and a competitive evaluation it conducted using the EY 7 Drivers of Development Framework. ” And today, we do pay for consultants” . ,  ,  ,
Being connected to members who have effectively built B2B SaaS businesses like Salandra’s was an even greater benefit of his FOX coverage. Let’s face it, not many people in Malaysia or the surrounding area are able to handle the difficulty of expanding a B2B company nationally. Who can I pick up the phone to ask for help” ? ,
This is where Salandra has benefited greatly from MDEC tying up with Mission via the Malaysian business. He was able to communicate with the C-suite administrative of a B2B SaaS business with a German address owing to FOX. In order to pursue his goal of entering the Middle East market himself, he also had the opportunity to speak with the leader of a significant Middle Eastern company. Salandra himself is currently in the process of joining Endeavor Malaysia despite both ongoing conversations ( which are ongoing ) and the incredible value he received.  ,
FOX strengthens Malaysia’s position to grow worldwide and become a leader in modern innovation by fostering strategic partnerships and relentless outreach.