- Key speakers include Dzuleira Abu Bakar (CEO of Cradle Seed Ventures), Thaddeus Koh (co-founder of e27), Curry Khoo (founder of TE4P)
- Highlights include TOP100 Fight Club pitching, Venturecon (an exclusive investor only forum)
- More than 300 startups and thought leader across Asia Pacific in attendance
Georgetown 13 April 2017 – Echelon Malaysia 2017, organised by e27, was held for the first time in Georgetown, Penang from 12-13 April. The two-day tech conference attracted over 300 start-ups, as well as thought leaders in travel tech, creative content, hardware, and industrial IOT.
Echelon Malaysia 2017 will be the focal point for Asia’s technology leaders, innovative businesses, bold investors, and forward-thinking industry representatives to leverage on future trends currently shaping Asia’s internet and mobile markets, specifically in the following industries: Hardware & IoT, Creative Content and Travel Technology, which are currently contributing to Malaysia’s tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
With a total fund pool of USD 315mil from participating investors, Echelon helps provide funding opportunity and bigger chance to raise funds for the start-up community.
“This year, Echelon is all about bridging the gap between online and offline,” said Thaddeus Koh, COO of e27.
“Instead of running two-day conferences as a standalone, these are now part of a yearlong platform engagement to address stakeholders’ needs for insights, connections, talent and funding. The tech industry is constantly innovating, and so we’re excited to see how conference goers react to these changes, starting with Echelon Malaysia 2017.”
One of the main highlights of the event is the TOP100 Fight Club, the fundraising platform for Asia’s most promising startups. The startups were selected through online qualifying rounds powered by startup-investor matching algorithm Echelon Connect before making their way to Penang to showcase their products and services.
The finalists met over 500 potential investors, mentors, and customers. They also walked away with lucrative prizes including Microsoft’s BizSpark (software, services, technical support and
Azure cloud), media exposure from e27 and free subscription to Supernewsroom.
Homegrown and international speakers from the likes of Dzuleira Abu Bakar (CEO of Cradle Seed Ventures), Cheryl Yeoh (former CEO of MaGIC), Terry Gold (Managing Director of Techstars Adelaide), and Chen Chow Yeoh (co-founder of Fave) were among the 70 speakers who fired up the stage.
Moving forward, Echelon will present across second cities in Asia such as Bandung, Chiang Mai and Jeju Island.
