Malaysia’s game plan: Improving human lives by facility of tech
With the arrival of tech, the race to innovate throughout the tech spectrum is essentially centered on developing with the “new.” From smarter algorithms, to synthetic intelligence (AI), and even to augmented actuality (AR) — the objective has all the time been to disrupt.
But greater than disruption and awe, right now’s tech innovators are continuously developing with methods to enhance human expertise. By this, we don’t simply imply utilizing tech to advertise better comfort and ease in folks’s each day lives. We imply options that affect the very nature of individuals.
These are options that assist inculcate street security self-discipline, democratise HR platforms for small and medium corporations (SMEs), present low cost lodging choices for younger folks, and even ones that energy human improvement by means of abilities coaching.
True, a few of the most attention-grabbing and most inspiring options on the market are ones which might be anchored on cultivating a greater high quality of life. These are options that transcend the frequent notions of comfort that saturate the market.
Because of this, we spoke to 4 of Malaysia’s tech startups to see what improvements they’ve give you and the way these improvements are hinged on serving to enhance human lives.
According to Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport, a complete of seven,152 recorded deaths as much as 2016 are because of street accidents. This information locations Malaysia on the 18th spot with regards to the street fatalities index on the earth.
With a complete variety of registered automobiles accumulating to 27.6 million, how do you totally inculcate street security to such a major inhabitants of drivers?
Katsana, a tech startup that pioneered the following technology GPS monitoring and fleet administration system, got here up with an answer that helps prepare drivers to turn into extra secure on the street: DriveMark.
A cellular telematics app, DriveMark scores the best way you drive utilizing cell phone sensors to highlight dangerous driving patterns and behavior. By introducing a gamification and rewards method, drivers are inspired to succeed in the next stage of safely on the street.
Drivers may enroll into month-to-month contests that include free private accident insurance coverage and rewards from their companions as an extra incentive for additional safety.
With the Katsana Advanced Telematics, the workforce has gained vital expertise from its preliminary launch in 2013 particularly in understanding driver behaviour patterns derived from subtle telematics information from automobiles, which has allowed them to exactly rating driving dangers.
Katsana got here up with DriveMark as a approach to democratise this distinctive data and apply their technical know-how on a cellular app within the hopes of serving to as many individuals as potential—all by means of information analytics and impactful engagement.
“When we look into conversations surrounding safe driving, it’s predominantly a discussion of deterrence through penalization and tend to be reactive instead of being proactive,” mentioned Syed Ahmad Fuqaha, CEO and co-founder of Katsana. He added, “with DriveMark, we associate safe driving with positive cues which comes in various forms; acknowledgement that you are driving safe, rewards, prizes, rebates, discounts and social recognition.”
Katsana needs DriveMark customers to even be a part of their mission — to be ambassadors of secure driving. They imagine that having clusters of people who find themselves actually keen about secure driving helps them develop and unfold the phrase to like-minded folks; and hopefully, to have that zeal spill over to bigger a part of the group.
By 2017, Katsana had analysed 460 million kilometers price of journey information, amassing roughly 1.2 to 1.Four million kilometers of knowledge every day.
Also learn: MaGIC or no MaGIC, Malaysia’s startup ecosystem is sure to flourish!
The comparability between the Millennial and Baby Boomers technology contains the premise that whereas one technology might afford housing at a relatively youthful age, one other couldn’t even even handle long-term leases for areas with correct dwelling circumstances.
However, this debate ignores the contextual variations between within the two very completely different socioeconomic realities taking place in at completely different instances in historical past. Baby Boomers generally level to Millennials’ lack of ability to maintain correct dwelling areas with out realising that right now’s world calls for completely different priorities.
Meaningful progressive options usually come up from necessity. One such innovation grounded on serving to younger folks discover reasonably priced and professionally managed long-term areas is Hostel Hunting.
Hostel Hunting began as a pupil rental market. The concept was easy: to get landlords to listing with them and supply the provision, after which join them to the potential tenants who make the reserving.
In 2008, they launched HH+ Rooms – reasonably priced rooms which might be professionally managed by Hostel Hunting from renovation and furnishing to each day group administration, house upkeep, and tenant dwelling expertise.
Widening their market past catering to University college students, Hostel Hunting now offers rooms to accommodate each the youth market and younger adults. HH+ is a full stack proptech and propserv answer.
In the B2B sector, Hostel Hunting helps corporations to supply housing wants for interns, overseas college students, and outstation workers.
“More people are looking to rent rather than owning a place of their own. Despite that, tenants are still required to do the nitty gritty such as buying their own furniture, DIY, or hire cleaning services to maintain their homes. We want to provide and shape a better living experience for our tenants,” mentioned Wen Khai, CEO and co-founder of Hostel Hunting.
In addition, for the tenant facet, he mentioned, “We guarantee [owners] a higher rental yield, hassle-free operation, and the HH+ living experience.”
Hostel Hunting believes the belief and help received each from their prospects and the standard of their traders, has positioned the enterprise properly —particularly with providing and shaping an improved dwelling expertise within the house rental panorama.
Also learn: HostelHunting raises Series A, goals to “aggressively” drive additional regional development
An HR answer for all
One of essentially the most seen indicators of efficiency hole in industries is an organization’s capability to digitalise its information. While most giant firms have the assets to implement Enterprise Relationship Planning (ERP) options, the vast majority of SMEs on this area are caught with previous guide HR practices involving tons of papers. Often, the businesses flip to common spreadsheets, or outsourced payroll brokers.
In many cases, the straightforward strategy of managing pay slip distributions and depart functions are paper-based —open to the potential for human error, and pointless prices.
This problem to an organization’s restricted assets usually leaves corporations stranded in that predicament. To deal with this, digital HR system supplier Swingvy determined to assist fill within the gaps. By seamlessly connecting HR data, Swingvy automates all administrative work — worker onboarding, core HR, depart utility, payroll, and advantages administration — in an environment friendly method.
The tech evolution of HR techniques isn’t new, having began greater than a decade in the past. What differentiates Swingvy is its “freemium” enterprise mannequin, which permits customers to register and use the answer without cost and with none time lock.
Also learn: Swingvy, a web based HR platform for SMEs in Southeast Asia, raises funding from Aviva
Swingvy democratises its HR system in two methods: first, the platform runs on the Web with out the necessity to pay for any licenses, hardware, or upkeep charges—making it completely accessible to each giant enterprises and small companies. Secondly, it permits everybody in an organization to make use of the software program in a as a substitute of simply HR admins.
The solely time the product is monetised is when happy prospects select so as to add on to the vary of companies they need from Swingvy, and might then resolve to unlock premium options.
Since Swingvy is an all-in-on HR platform, the premium bundle integrates the payroll and the advantages platform, selling full transparency for each admin and workers.
In addition to serving to SMEs minimize prices and save time, Swingvy administers its HR system to world normal person expertise. To totally compute a company-wide payroll system, the automation takes about 10 minutes to supply outcomes.
“It doesn’t make sense for companies to go through the unnecessary challenge of building their own HR software. Our HR platform, besides managing admin and employees’ HR related information, also integrates and automates with the country’s statutory and banking files,” mentioned Jin Choeh, CEO and co-founder of Swingvy.
In 2017, Swingvy was the primary Malaysian startup to win the Arena Battle in Tech in Asia and turn into part of Tech’s Top 100. It is without doubt one of the youngest corporations to be awarded “Malaysia HR Technology Entrepreneurial Company of the Year” by Frost and Sullivan, and is ready to look as one of many 10 finalists in Asia to pitch within the first Google Asia Demo Day in Shanghai.
Lifelong studying and human improvement by means of tech
With the affect of superior industrialization trickling all the way down to the grassroots, it is very important ask the correct questions on precisely what adjustments the workforce has to make.
“How will working be different? How will the way we understand ‘employability’ shift? How will ‘gig economies’ change the way small and large companies hire? How is it possible to close the gaps between education and employability? How do we bring valuable talent data out of the silos in which it typically resides to construct meaningful pictures of future workforces? How do we help individuals become self-driven lifelong learners?”
These are all crucial questions raised by Malaysia-based tech startup CXS.
CXS is a studying analytics firm with the potential to handle expertise improvement from training to employability with a concentrate on making ready nationwide workforces for the ever-changing calls for of what’s referred to as the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Essentially, CXS offers a collection of merchandise, companies, and options augmented with tech to energy human improvement and promote lifelong studying.
With their analytics system, CXS helps shoppers with a variety of points together with the implementation of improved recruitment and hiring options, expertise administration, and executing large-scale upskilling and reskilling packages.
Also learn: Malaysia hosts Create@Alibaba Cloud Startup Contest, permits 15 ASEAN startups to go world
“Talent acquisition and talent supply is now a major macro-economic factor affecting all industries to differing degrees. We help our clients get data out of silos and put it to work to solve problems. Good examples of the kinds of problems we typically help solve are: locating top talent to drive the growth of emerging industries, or helping find the local talent to secure direct foreign investment in key industry sectors,” mentioned Jan Lambrechts, CEO and founding father of CXS.
In addition to what the expertise pool appears to be like like at present, shoppers must know the place the to seek out potential expertise. CXS believes that the easiest way to reply issues posed by superior industrialization is thru higher hiring, smarter studying, and evidence-based outcomes.
While CXS is sustaining a robust centered on the ASEAN area, it’s quickly increasing to different elements of the world such because the Middle East and Latin America.
Malaysia is turning into a hub for tech innovators
Among Malaysia’s strengths is that it’s working as a microcosm for the Southeast Asian ecosystem. Hostel Hunting believes that localisation within the area is efficient as a result of the basics of placing up a tech startup is established in Malaysia, making it an appropriate platform to scale up into completely different territories.
While Hostel Hunting is a beneficiary of presidency help and steerage although MDEC, Cradle, and Magic, itt can also be noteworthy that Malaysia’s startup ecosystem in Malaysia may be very supportive of every participant.
Swingvy can also be contributing again to the startup group with the launch of a programme providing 90% low cost for using its product for startups in Malaysia and Singapore.
Funding additionally poses an necessary position for a lot of gamers. “Being a tech startup involves heaving in machine learning and predictions. We would not be here without a government grant early in our days,” mentioned Fuqaha of Katsana who credit a lot of their success to state-sponsored monetary help.
Meanwhile, CXS believes there isn’t any doubt its early and fast development was made potential by the invaluable help acquired from businesses equivalent to MDEC and TalentCorp. CXS highlights that the non-public sector has been equally superb, demonstrating their willingness to collaborate and innovate. This is necessary as a result of it units an instance for different nations within the area—actually a case of “Malaysia Boleh!” or “Malaysia can!”
How to take this to the following stage
When requested what Malaysia might do higher when it comes to supporting startups and innovation as a complete, DriveMark creators urged, “Allowing budding entrepreneurs to experiment with technology and innovation right after secondary school by funding innovative ideas. Start with a fund as small as RM2000-5000 with no expectation of return. If any of the ideas grow, then nurture it with bigger fund or assistance to help it go to market.”
Swingvy creators echoed this sentiment, saying that training performs a significant position. Support ought to begin from training, particularly since Malaysia has all the time had the expertise potential in addition to the assets.
They imagine that it’s all the time finest to have innovation and entrepreneurial thought nurtured from a younger age. This means, the federal government ought to acknowledge that the earlier academic system has not addressed this this space, and that non-public establishments ought to create and make investments extra funds to construct a stronger startup ecosystem.
On the opposite hand, Hostel Hunting believes that Malaysia may benefit from higher public consciousness and understanding of the ecosystem panorama.
All the 4 startups—Katsana, Hostel Hunting, Swingvy, and CXS—imagine that to holistically improve the expansion and affect of tech innovators requires sufficient funding, ample help to nurture creativity, and educating each the gamers within the startup ecosystem in addition to most of the people. This will nurture higher tech innovation and continued enhancement of human expertise.
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