Asia School of Business announces the launch of the inaugural ASB101K Entrepreneurship Competition, which will award a total of MYR101,000 in cash to the grand prize winner, as well as extra perks from Microsoft and other partners to the finalists.
Heaptalk, Jakarta — The Asia School of Business’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC@ASB), in collaboration with Microsoft, is hosting the inaugural ASB101K Entrepreneurship Competition, which aims to kickstart ventures offering innovative technology-driven scalable solutions in Agriculture, Education, Environment, Finance, Healthcare, ICT, and other sectors.
Following in the footsteps of the MIT100K Entrepreneurship Competition, which has been running since 1989 (notable past participants include now publicly-traded HubSpot and Akamai, among many others), this year’s competition is now available to teams of tertiary students and early-stage entrepreneurs from across the region, with the intention of fostering a vibrant entrepreneurship environment in Southeast Asia (SEA). The teams then will compete for a total prize money of MYR 262,000 and added benefits from competition partners like as Microsoft, in addition to receiving coaching and bootcamps from mentors from ASB and the regional startup and VC community.
ASB101K is divided into two tracks, and welcomes student teams from various fields across SEA to register for the competition via the Student Track. Meanwhile, early-stage start-ups registered anywhere in Southeast Asia after January 1st, 2019 are eligible to participate in the Start-Up Track. Cited from its official sites, the competition was recently re-scheduled to next year, April 2022. they also have extended the application deadline to 1st December 2021.
The competition will honor the most scalable, sustainable, and inventive business solution that solves a true business need in its target market. Each track winner will receive MYR101,000 in prize money. Furthermore, the Semi-Finalist Teams will receive additional benefits from competition partners.
“Our objective at IEC@ASB is to become the leading entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial advisory firm in Malaysia and worldwide. We understand that success is not guaranteed for any enterprise; nonetheless, the odds of thriving in the long run are vastly increased with a vibrant and active entrepreneurial ecosystem. We want to be a part of this entrepreneurial environment, which is why we are so excited to start this competition,” says Prof. Loredana Padurean, Associate Dean and Faculty Director for Action Learning and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Asia School of Business.
There are three rounds of the competition. A total of 100 teams will be shortlisted in Round 1 (Executive Summary). After Round 2 (Business Model), 24 finalists will move on to Round 3. (Presentations). The last two rounds will begin with boot camps to assist participating teams in solidifying their business plan and improving their pitching skills.
Due to the epidemic, the first two rounds will be contested virtually, with the venue of Round 3 still being determined based on the scenario at the time. The ASB hopes that the final phase of the competition will be held in person, allowing competitors to take advantage of their cutting-edge campus grounds in Kuala Lumpur.
“Through the bootcamps, we will focus on building smart and sharp abilities in participants in order to create future ready leaders for Asia. To further strengthen the ecosystem, we will involve our students, teachers, alumni, partners, and investors at various stages of the competition,” said Subramonia Sarma, Senior Director of Action Learning and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Asia School of Business.
Semi-finalists will get certification vouchers valid for up to six months after the competition thanks to Microsoft’s relationship with ASB101K. These Microsoft vouchers will allow semi-finalists to receive certification programs worth up to USD$180 in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics.
“Digital innovation is crucial to any economy, delivering great benefit for all,” said K Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia. We are delighted to be cooperating with the Asia School of Business’ ASB101K, which will provide future leaders with the skills and resources they require to succeed. We are excited to see the rise of a new generation of startups and entrepreneurs.”
Spokesperson Profile, Professor Loredana Padurean
Director of ASB’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, Associate Dean and Faculty Director for Action Learning International Faculty Fellow at MIT
Loredana Padurean is the Associate Dean at Asia School of Business (ASB), a collaboration between the MIT Sloan School of Management and Bank Negara Malaysia (the Central Bank of Malaysia), and holds an appointment of International Faculty Fellow at MIT Sloan where she also teaches in 3 executive education programs.
At ASB, Prof. Loredana has been one of the key “nailers” behind the establishment of the school and in particular, has directed the development of the globally recognized action learning program at ASB. She is a global entrepreneurial academic with a track record of program, school and intellectual leadership for multiple degrees. She is a global keynote speaker and her popular “Nail it, Scale it, Sail it” is a popular TedX talk.
This “Nail it, Scale it, Sail it” describes the evolution of start-ups to scale-ups to sail-ups, the challenges, opportunities and leadership styles that come with each stage. Prof. Loredana has an MA in Communication and Economics and a PhD in Management from USI Switzerland.
