With towering skyscrapers, cultural diversity, excellent foods and unique scenes, Kuala Lumpur is on a fast track to re-establishing itself as the leading start-up city it was renowned for in the region. There are new policies like Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (SUPER) 2021–2030 that will encourage these aspirations of startup ecosystem players to make KL become a primary location for nurturing new startups.
Is Malaysia Technologically Advanced?
In terms of technological readiness, it ranks 27th globally according to a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) survey making it one of Southeast Asia’s most technologically advanced countries. Moreover, Malaysia has taken great strides towards moving with industry technology 4.0 and is well on its way to becoming a high-income nation by year 2025.
How Does The Malaysian Government Support Startups?
A sum of $317 million was set aside by the Malaysian government in 2023 which has massively increased to $700 million in 2024 aimed at encouraging growth and development within the country’s start-up environment. As one important measure towards this, MYStartup is being developed by the government as a One-Stop portal where all startups in Malaysia can have access to clean collaboration and a comprehensive one-stop platform across the ecosystem.
Top Startups in Kuala Lumpur
From digital health services and apps hoping to reduce the gender gap, Malaysia is home to many impressive startups. Here, we look at 10 Malaysian startups that we think are worth keeping an eye on in 2024:
1. Wahine Capital
Wahine Capital began in the year 2022 as an investment platform aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs in Asia. It aims to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship by providing funding, resources and mentorship programs to female-led startups.
2. Beldex
Beldex was founded in 2018 as a privacy-focused cryptocurrency platform. It utilises both public and private blockchains so as to allow for secure, anonymous transactions as well as support decentralised apps and services.
3. Kommu
Kommu is a communication platform powered by AI with recent establishment targeted at improving productivity in workplaces. The modern workspace will benefit from the use of this advanced AI technology to streamline communication among team members, project management tools, and team coordination processes.
4. Paywatch
Paywatch was launched in 2021 as a financial wellness platform that allows employees to access earned wages before payday. Its main goal is to help people achieve financial stability while avoiding high-interest loans through responsible management of their earnings.
5. Durioo+ 
Durioo+ streaming service was founded in 2022 for providing educational and entertaining content specifically designed for children. This is a global audience-friendly service consisting of safe entertaining content aimed at fostering learning and development.
6. Naluri
Established in 2017, Naluri is a digital health service that provides complete solutions to healthy living through its app. It uses behavioral science, data science and digital design to offer personal coaching on mental and physical health with an emphasis on managing chronic diseases and general well-being.
7. Borong
Malaysian e-commerce startup was set up in 2019 known as Borong Malaysia. These small businesses need such markets where they can access much larger numbers so that they can promote local goods and services hence the need for platforms like Borong Malaysia which are meant particularly for SMEs.
8. Pandai
Pandai Education released the educational application Pandai on September 19th, 2019 which seeks to create interactive quizzes or exams preparation videos etc. Their curriculum includes several subjects; it has more than six hundred thousand students throughout Malaysia.
9. Food Market Hub
Food Market Hub started operating in the year 2017 as procurement management software for the food & beverage industry. The platform connects restaurants to suppliers, manages orders and reduces wastage of food by providing data-driven solutions.
10. Torum
Launched in 2020, Torum is a social media platform built for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Basically, it’s a decentralised finance (DeFi) plus social network where users can connect with each other, share information or find new opportunities within the crypto sphere.
