Cyberjaya, March 20 – Go2Market, an initiative co-organised by the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) and Stanford University, concluded its week-long programm on Friday.
The programme, which started on 12 March, provided handpicked participants with the opportunity to transform a good idea into an executable go-to-market business plan, teaching them the skills needed to become a successful entrepreneur along the way.
During the programme, 50 participants – shortlisted from a pool of 205 applicants – learnt from the faculty of Stanford University Graduate School of Business on topics such as designing a business and revenue model, crafting a go-to-market strategy, marketing your products and services, as well as pitching to investors.
Participants also received access to an online course on Design Thinking, a certificate of completion from Stanford University, and a chance to network with experienced entrepreneurs and potential investors.
Ashran Dato’ Ghazi, Chief Executive Officer of MaGIC, said: “Go2Market is designed to give aspiring innovators a crash course on how to build a business from the faculty of Stanford University, one of the best in the world. I hope the program inspired participants as well as equipping them with an understanding of the necessary skills and capabilities they will need to build a sustainable business.”
“As with previous intakes we will be following the Go2Market graduates closely as they transform their ideas into successful businesses. About 30% of Go2Market graduates from previous intakes have also participated in MaGIC’s other programs, such as our accelerator, to help further develop their business. We again thank Stanford University and its faculty for their commitment and support in driving entrepreneurship development here in Malaysia and around the region.”
Baba Shiv, Professor of Marketing of Stanford University and Director of Stanford Innovative Technology Leader, added: “I’ve been involved in the MaGIC – Stanford Go2Market program for the past three years. It is exciting to see how the pool of participants has improved each year.”
“Each intake has included more and more sophisticated participants with sustainable business ideas who have done their homework very well. I am glad to witness that the spirit of collaboration continues even after the program ends. Participants from the previous batches have been keeping in touch to help each other navigate through the tough journey of entrepreneurship. I would also like to thank MaGIC for being such a great host and taking an active role to enable entrepreneurship development in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.”
The majority of concepts developed by these budding entrepreneurs were focused on the consumer goods and services sector with technology and business services also of interest. Other sectors represented included education, environment, finance and industrials.