Open For Business

THAIFEX-Anuga Asia 2023, taking place from 23-27 May, will be a vital platform for Malaysian food brands and the global F&B industry's recovery post-pandemic. Mathias Kuepper, Managing Director & VP Asia-Pacific, Koelnmesse Pte Ltd, highlights the event's importance and insights on emerging trends. Over 2,700 exhibitors from 40 countries will showcase various industry verticals, attracting 60,000 visitors. Key trends include sustainability, health-focused cuisine, and nutrition for ageing populations. Singapore's investment in alternative proteins and green economy jobs presents significant opportunities for Malaysian entrepreneurs and investors in the food industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel is back. Global tourism bounced back in 2022, and that was without China’s reopening, and Malaysian startup TixCarte is set to ride on this growth, tapping into the demand for experiences in a post-pandemic world, whether it’s travel packages or concert tickets.With ambitions to become the region’s largest B2B ticketing engine for attractions and activities in 2023, we speak to Parthiven Shan, Founder and CEO, TixCarte about the company’s role in the travel and experience industry, how they work with players like AirAsia and Boost, and how much of a money maker this business could be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia is known for a lot of things, more so for our enticing food and our colourful festivals. Such are the perks of having a diverse group of people and cultures living together under one roof as Malaysians. Hence, the importance of unity and tolerance cannot be stressed enough to preserve this harmony.So in 2015, a couple of good friends decided to put their best foot forward and formed Projek57, a social enterprise which shares the vision of our 1st Prime Minister, that “Our future depends on how well many different kinds of people can live and work together” They engage with youths, from schools, colleges, universities or the Orang Asli community in spreading patriotism and admiration for fellow Malaysians.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Candles are not so much a source of light anymore. Rather, scented candles have become a form of aromatherapy. To get a “scents” of the scented candles markets in Malaysia, Julie Yim and Marcus Khoo, co-founders of Lilin and Co, tell us about the candle trends we see here in Malaysia, how they are competing in the market by hand pouring at least 800 candles per day and opening a physical store. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the world of brand strategy design, Brand Soul Consultancy stands out by specialising in crafting exceptional brand development, strategy, and architecture.Their expertise in digital development, public relations, and content creation distinguishes them from the competition, providing businesses with the tools necessary to engage audiences effectively and enhance their brand visibility to new levels.Photo Credits: Facebook | Brand Soul International See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Money may make the world go round, but credit keeps it moving smoothly in the business world. Traditionally credit terms have been the staple in business to business dealings, but in order to help address cash flow issues a variety of financing solutions have come about, including invoice financing, P2P financing, trade financing, and now Buy Now Pay Later or more commonly known as BNPL.While mostly focused on supporting consumer purchases, BNPL has made it into the B2B space, which is a much larger market, worth around $125 trillion in 2018 according to Statista data.Today on Open for Business, we explore the potential of B2B BNPL with Shafik Ali, co-founder and CEO of du-it Malaysia, a Malaysia-based Islamic Fintech firm.du-it was recently shortlisted as one of the Top 11 startups for RHB accelerator programme.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future of our industries lies in automation and AI. More and more companies are embracing this new change and the Malaysian Agriculture field is no different. Agro Stream Sdn Bhd started off as Shawal Technologies Sdn Bhd, a company that specialises in offering services such as PCB design and hardware integration.However, their interest shifted towards smart farming system development, which led them to establish their own cloud-based platform and hardware for the smart farming system. Focusing more on hydroponics and fertigation techniques, they aim to help businesses and farmers boost work efficiency and production quality in efforts of promoting Malaysia achieving UN’s sustainable development goals.Today, we will be talking to the co-founders of Agro Stream; Badar Ali and Muhamad ShawalPhoto Credits: Freepik | jcompSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the rising food insecurity in Malaysia, more and more Malaysians are adopting gardening to grow their own produce and for some, agriculture has even become a profession. Even with inflation, the demand for fresh vegetables and fruits is constantly on the rise. This is where Qarbotech intends to lend a helping hand with their product, QarboGrow. By increasing the efficiency of a plant’s photosynthesis process, they believe vegetable and fruit production will be increased by 30% among other benefits, including a 25% reduction in the crop cycle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So far in 2023, ChatGPT, a text-based AI bot, is making headlines for its versatility, from generating recipes to fixing coding bugs. However, the potential misuse of ChatGPT for cybercrime raises concerns. With Malaysia investing RM10 million to combat cyber scams, an interview with Ravi Rajendran, Vice President of APJ at Cohesity, could provide insight on AI's role in technology and businesses, the implications of ChatGPT misuse, cyber threat implications, the importance of cyber resilience, and the role of machine learning in defence against ransomware attacks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think of the big restaurant brands, odds are brands like KFC, McDonald's, and Domino's come to mind, but can homegrown startup Pop Meals change that up?Formerly known as Dahmakan, Pop Meals wants to make everyday food affordable, convenient, and exciting by curating, cooking, and delivering data-driven meals. The startup is tapping into data, technology, and lessons learnt from Dahmakan, to create a scalable quick serve restaurant built for the omnichannel world we currently live in.Based on Crunchbase data, Pop Meals has raised a total of $27 million in funding over 5 rounds and is on a fast expansion course across Southeast Asia, with over 35 smart outlets Pop Meal.On the back of Pop Meals being selected at Endeavor's 33rd Virtual International Selection Panel (vISP), Jonathan Weins, Co-founder & CEO of PopMeals and Endeavor Entrepreneur, joins us on Open for Business for a look at their growth ahead, the potential profitability of the business model, and how it plans to create a brand that can rival the likes of McDonald's, KFC, and Domino's.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.