Open For Business

Today on the show, we take a look at some of the innovative strides in sustainable waste management with Mah Jun Kit, Founder and CEO of BioLoop, a pioneering startup transforming Malaysia’s palm oil waste landscape.

BioLoop utilises Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) to convert organic waste into valuable protein for aquaculture and animal feeds, significantly reducing ecological damage and greenhouse gas emissions. With over 8000 metric tons of waste processed, BioLoop not only enhances Malaysia’s environmental sustainability but also boosts its economy by creating new jobs and producing organic fertilisers.

Along the course of the conversation, Jun Kit will be helping us digest the global potential of BSFL technology and its economic and environmental impact, how Bioloop is unique in this market and what’s in the pipeline for this BSFL solutions enterprise to help Malaysia position itself as a leader in sustainable agriculture.

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Founded in 2007, Web Bytes is a software development company that specialises in software solutions for the retail and food and beverage (F&B) industries, and is 38% owned by GD Express Carrier Bhd (GDeX).

The company began as a small project attempting to reinvent retail software and yet today, it is a RM30 million business with customers such as F&B brands such as ZUS Coffee and Gigi Coffee, as well as retailers such as The Body Shop.

With over 5,000 retail merchants across Southeast Asia and billions of dollars worth of retail transactions per year, today we dive into how Web Bytes has evolved over the last 17 years, the value they bring to the retail & F&B space, how they are positioning themselves to leverage AI and Machine Learning in the retail tech space, and much more.

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“Fashion retail is not a Silicon Valley story”.

Jenn’s Wanderlust + Co journey began back in 2010 in her apartment in Melbourne, powered by a WordPress website, self-made graphic designs, and about RM10,000 in startup money. Today her Wanderlust + Co products are present in nearly 30 countries, making over 70% of its revenue from foreign markets, and has been worn by the likes of Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Selena Gomez.

On this episode of Open For Business, we dive into the 14 year journey that Jenn Low has been on, from how she started the business to when it stopped being a side hustle and how she grew it into a 7-figure business.

Among other things, we also get into how influencer marketing played into the success of the business, how Instagram and later TikTok changed the game, why she didn’t raise any external funding, the brand’s push into physical retail, her ambitions ahead, and key lessons learnt along the way as an entrepreneur.

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While technological advancements and immersive multiplayer experiences make gaming a popular leisure activity, excessive screen time poses risks to children's mental health, including addiction, diminished focus, and social skill deficiencies.

To address these concerns, Bomb Battle, a team-building escape room game company introduces Bomb Battle Elite, Malaysia's newest family entertainment attraction. Spanning over 6000 square feet, it offers four innovative games with 10 missions and 50 modes across three difficulty levels, suitable for young kids and adolescents.

With that, joining us in the studio today is Datin Sheehan Tee, Founder of Bomb Battle, to discuss the inspiration behind their interactive escape room style game, their unique position in the market, and their foreseeable future plans moving forward.

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Malaysian startup Finalyst wants to help financial planners, insurance agents, and unit trust consultants improve sales conversions and better manage their relationships with clients through their financial planning platform.

With a focus on simplicity, Finalyst says that the platform supports industry players by providing personalised financial plans. That said, this isn’t the first or only product in the market to try and address this. So what makes them stand out from other solutions already in the market or will shield them from better funded players who come in later?

We explore this and much more in this episode of Open For Business. We also get into Finalyst’ origins, the team behind it, how they built Finalyst, and ambitions ahead.

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Today on the show, we’re diving into the realm of Extended Reality (XR) with Theyventhiran Nadarajah, CEO, & Jayagaren Paramasivam, CTO, Teczo Sdn Bhd . They are a technology company that provides cutting-edge Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) applications, mobile applications, metaverse development, digital twin solutions, advanced visualisation techniques, and analytics tools.

Founded back in 2021, Teczo has swiftly emerged as a pivotal player in the digital transformation landscape. With industries across the ecosystem rapidly gravitating towards digitalisation, Teczo has positioned itself as a trusted partner for organisations seeking to harness the power of technology.

Some of their services include XR apps, IoT solutions, data management and software training. These services are provided for businesses in diverse sectors such as Banking and Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Legal, Logistics, and Education.

Along the course of our conversation, Thevyen & Jaya helped us break down the story behind Teczo, the development process of their innovative solution known as ConstructXR and what the company has in store moving forward.

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Shopmatic is a global e-commerce platform that empowers merchants to build and grow their businesses online. The company was acquired by global embedded finance firm MatchMove in 2022 in a deal worth $200 million US Dollars, enabling MatchMove to provide its Banking-as-a-Service capabilities to Shopmatic’s ecosystem of over a million e-commerce SME customers.

2 years after the deal, we speak to Nicole about her switch in role from Chief of People at MatchMove to Shopmatic’s COO, why MatchMove made the acquisition and the post-acquisition integration process, and Shopmatic’s future.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

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On this episode of Open For Business, we dive into an increasingly crucial topic within the bustling construction sector of Malaysia— safety on the job site. In an industry that is as dynamic as it is hazardous, innovative solutions are not just welcome; they're necessary.

We are joined by Frank Tan, the Co-Founder of Nuri IoT, a company at the forefront of this safety revolution with their groundbreaking smart helmet. This piece of technology is not just a hard hat, it's a sophisticated blend of Internet of Things technology, aimed at drastically reducing common yet avoidable accidents.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

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Founded in 2022, this Malaysian startup wants to help brands connect with their audience by transforming everyday vehicles into mobile billboards, while empowering car owners to earn while they drive, effectively turning KM into RM.

Having made RM800,000 in revenue in 2023, Carching is targeting RM3 million this year, while looking to raise a seed funding round of RM 2 million to power that growth, but also build out the team, and develop new products.

Today we explore Carching’s origins and what brought Jeshua into entrepreneurship, how he’s navigating a space that has seen the demise of other players, as well as potential competition from other media players and Grab. We also get into possible exit scenarios, goals for the next 5 years,, and his vision for the future of this startup.

Additionally, Jeshua doesn’t have a co-founder. We explore why and what he’s potentially looking for in one.

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In today’s fast-paced world, the dark shadow of fake certifications looms large, threatening not just the credibility of individuals but also the very foundations of our educational and professional institutions, as well as industrial certifications.

To combat and address this, Malaysian startup Certiify Solutions is on a mission to safeguard the sanctity of certifications through the power of blockchain technology.

We dive into how Certiify uses blockchain to power its solution and the depth of the problem that Norlisa wants to address, as well as explore the company's origin story and journey, where they are in their product-market fit journey and go to market strategy, and what comes next.

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