Asia School of Business Launches Inaugural ASB101K Entrepreneurship Competition

The AirAsia Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre at Asia School of Business (IEC@ASB) launches the inaugural ASB101K Entrepreneurship Competition. Aimed at building a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southeast Asia (SEA), registration is now open to teams of tertiary students and early stage startups from around the region. On top of gaining exposure to coaching and bootcamps delivered by mentors from ASB and the regional startup and VC ecosystem, teams will vie for the total prize money of MYR 262,000 and additional benefits from competition partners including Microsoft.

Following in the footsteps of the MIT100K Entrepreneurship Competition which has been running since 1989 (notable past participants include now public-listed HubSpot and Akamai amongst many others), ASB101K also seeks to jumpstart ventures offering innovative technology-driven scalable solutions in the areas of Agriculture, Education, Environment, Finance, Healthcare, ICT, and other sectors.

Divided into two tracks, ASB101K welcomes student teams from various disciplines at any level of study from tertiary level institutions across SEA to register for the competition via the Student Track. Meanwhile, early stage start-ups registered anywhere in SEA after 1 January 2019 are eligible to participate under the Start-Up Track.

The competition will reward the most scalable, sustainable and innovative business solution that addresses a genuine business problem with respect to its target market. Respective track winners will be awarded MYR 101,000 each. Further, there are additional perks for the Semi-finalist Teams, from competition partners.

"At IEC@ASB, our vision is to become the primary entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial advisory in Malaysia and beyond. We know that success for any venture is not a given; however, the chances of thriving for the long term is infinitely greater with a robust and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. We intend to be an integral part of this entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is why we are extremely proud to launch 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.

The competition involves three rounds. In Round 1 (Executive Summary), a total of 100 teams will be shortlisted. At the end of Round 2 (Business Model), 24 finalists will advance to Round 3 (Presentations). The latter two rounds will kick off with boot camps to help participating teams solidify their business model and improve their pitching skills respectively.

Due to the pandemic, initial rounds will be held virtually, while the location of Round 3 is still pending, depending on the situation at the time. It is the ASB's hope that the final leg of the competition will be held in person, so that participants can take advantage of their state-of-the-art campus grounds in Kuala Lumpur.

"In creating future ready leaders for Asia, our emphasis will be on developing smart and sharp skills in the participants via the bootcamps. To nurture the ecosystem further, we will also involve our students, faculty, alumni, partners and investors at different stages throughout the competition," added Subramonia Sarma, Senior Director of Action Learning and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Asia School of Business.

Through Microsoft's partnership with ASB101K, semi-finalists will receive certification vouchers valid up to six months after the competition from the tech giant. These vouchers from Microsoft will provide the semi-finalists with the opportunity to receive certification programmes worth up to USD$180 in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics.

K Raman, Managing Director at Microsoft Malaysia commented, "Digital innovation is essential to any economy, driving tremendous impact for all. We are pleased to be collaborating with the Asia School of Business' ASB101K, empowering future leaders with the skills and resources they need to succeed. We look forward to bearing witness to the emergence of a new generation of startups and entrepreneurs."

Registration for ASB101K and Round 1 submissions are open from now till 1 September 2021. For more information on ASB101K or to register, visit https://asb101k.com/.

About Asia School of Business

Asia School of Business (ASB) was established in 2015 by Bank Negara Malaysia in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management to be a premier global business school, a knowledge and learning hub infused with regional expertise, insights and perspectives of Asia and the emerging economies.

ASB's degree and executive education programs have been globally-acclaimed for leading the way in management education. Through its award-winning Action Learning based curriculum, in partnership with the corporate community and students from across the world, ASB is committed to developing transformative and principled leaders who will contribute towards advancing the emerging world and beyond.

To learn more about Asia School of Business, visit their website at https://asb.edu.my/, or check out their LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook pages.

About Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Asia School of Business (IEC@ASB)

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) was designed with the belief that everyone can be an innovator and entrepreneur through the right tools, mentorship, and interventions. This center for innovation and entrepreneurship provides innovation and entrepreneurship programs to ASB students, corporate partners, universities, non-profit organizations, and youth organizations all while managing FabLabKL, one of Malaysia's first makerspaces.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1582197/Asia_School_of_Business_Campus___Exterior_2.jpg
Caption: Star Up! Start High! Join the ASB 101K Competition

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