About GEN in Malaysia

The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) began operating in Malaysia in 2008 when it partnered with Warisan Global to launch Global Entrepreneurship Week. The campaign was an immediate success, increasing awareness of entrepreneurship and supporting local founders.

In 2010, the growth and evident impact of Malaysia’s annual campaign was recognized on the world stage when Warisan Global won the Brand Champion Award at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, establishing Malaysia as a leader in building an entrepreneurial community. Over the next decade, GEW activities grew to include startup competitions, mentorship sessions, and startup weekends focused on turning ideas into prototypes. It is now a vital rallying point for entrepreneurship leaders to connect and collaborate, empowering the ecosystem to address new challenges and meet evolving needs.

In 2014, GEN and the government of Malaysia (MDEC and MOSTI) organized the Startup Nations Summit (SNS) in Kuala Lumpur. SNS is a high-level gathering that connects a global community of policymakers, public-sector advisors, and startup ecosystem leaders. Designed to explore innovative regulatory changes and policy levers that can accelerate the growth of new firms, SNS Kuala Lumpur focused on “policy hacks” and collaborative sessions where government officials and startup representatives work together to solve specific regulatory problems aimed at helping fast-growing companies create maximum economic impact.

GEN’s strategy for Malaysia began with foundational awareness. After the government announced the creation of MaGIC (the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre) in 2014, the mission shifted from awareness to actively building the infrastructure that supports high-growth firms. In 2018, GEN registered a local entity, GEN Malaysia, to lead programming that ensures local founders are connected to a global network of mentors and investors.

As Malaysia’s ecosystem has matured, GEN introduced the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) in 2019 in partnership with Startupscale360 FZE. The EWC offers startups an opportunity to compete for million-dollar prizes and participate in global acceleration and mentorship. As a bridge to international markets, EWC connects Malaysian founders with global investors. Startups such as Asia Mobiliti (EWC 2022 Global Quarter-finalist) and Pandai (2024 finalist) prove that Malaysian innovation in AI, EdTech, and AgTech is globally scalable.

As Malaysia continues to invest in entrepreneurship -- it's the National Entrepreneurship Policy 2030 targets nurturing 50,000 entrepreneurs -- GEN in Malaysia is accelerating growth by connecting them with development opportunities, stakeholders and other like-minded business communities on a global scale. With bridging programs and capacity development for local startups. GEN is an important part of Malaysia's effort to became a global entrepreneurship leader.