The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) together with Cradle has now announced their latest initiative, called Startup ASEAN. Through it, it wants to unite and elevate ASEAN countries as major players in the development of startup companies or startups at the global level.
This move is also seen in line with Malaysia, which will chair ASEAN in 2025. The Startup-Asean website was also launched in line with the announcement of this initiative.
Under this initiative, it aims for ASEAN member countries to strengthen startup-friendly policies, while also increasing the availability of ecosystems to drive collaboration and synergy in the ASEAN region. This is also expected to indirectly foster innovation and cooperation among developers in the region.
In parallel with this, Cradle is expected to introduce a regional hackathon program targeting sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, as well as sustainability and climate technology.
Today, it is said that there are more than 11,000 regional startups, with an ecosystem value of $131.2 billion.