AFTER years of being in the business of nurturing entrepreneurs in all areas of technology and at all growth stages, the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) has rolled out its technopreneur training academy, named Tentra (Technopreneur Training Academy) last month.
In the last 25 years, MTDC has successfully carved its name as a prime agency that provides capacity building for budding technopreneurs and has brought many startup companies to the forefront.
The launch of Tentra was officiated by MTDC chief executive officer Datuk Norhalim Yunus who said the academy will groom novice technopreneurs [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]through its signature programme called Symbiosis where face-to-face training, mentoring and advisory services will be provided. The training is geared towards all stages of business development – seed, start-up, growth and expansion to ensure sustainability of the companies.
Norhalim said: “The launching of Tentra as a sub brand resonates well in MTDC’s ecosystem as it supports the new and enhanced business direction of the company. MTDC also rebranded its corporate logo late last year and its official launch marks an exciting new business direction that the company will be venturing into”.
The launch of Tentra also saw the exchange of Memorandum of Exchange with its three Learning partners. Malaysia Practice Enterprise Network Centre (MyPEC) was represented by its managing director, Matsham Ahmad. Ellynita Hazlina Lamin, director, Innovation and Strategic Collaborations represented RTI International and its president Professor Madya Dr Samsilah Roslan, represented Innovation and Technology Managers Association Malaysia (ITMA).
Fifteen Symbiosis CRDF recipient companies also received their Certification of Approval from Norhalim. These companies were approved under the 10th and 11th Malaysian Plan.
MTDC has been involved in three core businesses and areas of expertise which are fund management, technology centre & incubator and advisory and nurturing for the past 25 years.
Norhalim said, “Along the way we quickly learnt that while funding is required, it is not everything. Commercialisation, technology transfer and technology development is not dependent on funding alone”.
Stating that MTDC initially started as a venture capital company, Norhalim further elaborated, “In a model where you have venture capital, you need to have several things before you can be an effective venture capital company.
“You must first have the number, the critical mass of companies to look at. This means that you must have companies being formed every day, and technopreneurs being created every hour. And, if you don’t have this, you cannot run an effective venture capital company”.
To bridge this gap, MTDC offers technology matching services, including a placement scheme for lecturers and researchers who wish to gain industry insights on knowledge transfer and commercialisation as one of the solutions.
Some successful ventures are expected to be announced in the coming months.
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