Crossing Borders: Malaysian Startups Eye Bigger ASEAN Market
By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil
JAKARTA, May 7 (Bernama) -- For many Malaysian startups, expanding beyond domestic borders often comes with familiar challenges -- limited regional networks, unfamiliar regulations and difficulty accessing investors outside Malaysia.
In addressing those challenges, Malaysia’s startup landscape has long been supported by various government-linked agencies and ecosystem builders, including MRANTI, MDEC, PERNAS, SME Corp and other entrepreneurship initiatives aimed at helping local startups scale beyond the domestic market.
Private sector-led programmes are now adding another layer of regional connectivity, particularly through direct engagement with neighbouring markets such as Indonesia.
That opportunity was highlighted during a regional entrepreneurship programme, “Innovate for Impact Jakarta 2026”, organised by Satu Creative, an innovation and impact organisation headquartered in Malaysia dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and professionals across ASEAN.
The programme brought several Malaysian startups to pitch their ideas to potential investors and ecosystem players in Indonesia.
Indonesia, home to more than 280 million people and one of the region’s fastest-growing digital economies, has increasingly become an attractive destination for Malaysian startups seeking larger consumer markets and investment opportunities.
Paving cross-border engagement
Speaking to Bernama, Satu Creative chief executive officer Ahmad Azuar Zainuddin said many startups are interested in entering Indonesia, but often struggle to navigate the market and establish the right connections.
“Indonesia represents a huge opportunity for Malaysian startups, but market entry is not just about ambition. It requires context, relationships and trust.
“Through this programme, we want to help startups move from seeing the opportunity to actually understanding the market, meeting the right people and building the confidence to grow across borders,” he said.
Ahmad Azuar said the programme was organised in collaboration with Garuda Spark Innovation Hub, an initiative by Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry (KomDigi), aimed at connecting startups with investors, ecosystem builders and businesses already operating across borders, while helping entrepreneurs better understand opportunities in Indonesia.
Among the investors present were representatives from regional venture capital firms, including Gobi Partners, as well as other ecosystem players from both countries.
The event also saw the signing of an agreement between Satu Creative and Indonesia’s KomDigi to strengthen cooperation in developing the startup ecosystem, capacity building, and market access between Malaysia and Indonesia.
From opportunity to market entry
One of the participating startups was iLuvQuran, a Malaysian Islamic education platform that has been gradually exploring opportunities in Indonesia over the past several years.
iLuvQuran chief marketing officer Ezri Nor Syafren said the company focuses on building a holistic Quranic education ecosystem through educational modules, online and physical classes, gamified applications, e-books and training programmes for parents.
He said iLuvQuran first began receiving interest from potential partners in Indonesia around 2018, and from investors who became familiar with the platform in Malaysia.
“International expansion is not easy. We started venturing into the Indonesian market in 2018, and began actively trying to piece together all the pieces of the puzzle from two years ago,” he said, adding that the company only began seriously attempting market penetration in Indonesia this year, including via a joint venture formed with an Indonesian company during last Ramadan.
Ezri said Malaysia’s startup ecosystem has benefited from support from both government-linked and private ecosystem builders, while private initiatives such as Satu Creative help provide startups with more direct regional exposure and cross-border business opportunities.
Regional exposure as a necessity
For many startups, regional exposure is increasingly becoming a necessity rather than an ambition, as investors place growing emphasis on cross-border scalability within ASEAN’s interconnected economies.
Ahmad Azuar said startups supported through entrepreneurship development programmes in Malaysia are typically assessed based on revenue growth, job creation and their ability to secure follow-on funding.
He said around 80 per cent of participating startups had successfully secured additional funding from government agencies, corporations or investors after completing such programmes, and that regional expansion could become the next key benchmark for startup success.
“Moving forward, we want to see more startups not only grow within Malaysia and Indonesia, but also begin collaborating and scaling across ASEAN.
“That is where the impact becomes bigger, because startups are able to create value and opportunities across the region,” he said.
He said the programme in Jakarta marked the second collaboration involving the same Indonesian ministry, with Satu Creative planning similar engagements in other Southeast Asian cities, including Bangkok later this year.
Ahmad Azuar said future programmes are expected to be held more frequently across major cities and economic centres in Indonesia, while the longer-term vision could eventually extend beyond Malaysian startups alone.
He said the organisation is open to bringing together startups from across ASEAN under broader regional programmes, reflecting growing aspirations to position Southeast Asia as a more interconnected startup ecosystem.
-- BERNAMA