THE WORD

THE WORD WITH DZULEIRA ABU BAKAR

CEO OF MALAYSIAN GLOBAL INNOVATION & CREATIVITY CENTRE (Ma GIC)

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC), Dzuleira Abu Bakar has extensive experience in the start-up and tech ecosystem space both locally and abroad. Prior to MaGIC, Dzuleira was CEO of Cradle Seed Ventures (CSV) and has held key positions in both the public and private sector with a focus on venture capitalism and private equity. She is also an appointed Council Member of the National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM).

We chatted with her to find out more about herself, her role as CEO of MaGIC and the lay of the land for entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

What does MaGIC do and what is your role as its CEO?

MaGIC is an extension under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) and carries out the role of creating and catalysing the growth of innovation-driven entrepreneurship by bringing together all the various stakeholders from universities, schools, right up to the market itself. In essence, MaGIC acts as a connector and as the core of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Malaysia.

As CEO of MaGIC, my role is to develop entrepreneurial talent for the country and to create a pipeline of talented entrepreneurs by establishing a healthy and thriving ecosystem.

How is the entrepreneurial spirit in Malaysia like? What can be done to nurture and foster it to the next level?

According to the Global Innovation Index in 2018, Malaysia ranked 35 with a score of 43.16, improving 2 notches compared to 2017. That said, there is still a lack of innovators, makers and creators in Malaysia. We have tremendous potential with the younger generation who are extremely technology savvy, creative and ambitious.

Unfortunately, what is sorely lacking in the younger generation: an inquisitive mind to identify a problem and asking themselves how could it be solved and what can they do to solve it; and having the fundamental entrepreneurial behaviour and mindset such as financial literacy, cross-border collaboration, solving social causes or being part of one that can positively impact society and disrupt the industry. This is where education would need to go beyond academia through a thriving and healthy ecosystem.

“To be an entrepreneur, you will need to be creative and innovative, willing to take risks, not afraid to fail, and be tenacious among others.” - DZULEIRA ABU BAKAR -

Playing our role, MaGIC is dedicated to groom exponential entrepreneurs equipped with the latest exponential technological trends (Big Data, IoT and AI), psychological tools (innovative business models) and learning how to leverage on the power of the crowd (crowdfunding, community building etc).

We are also focused on developing the ecosystem and making it accessible for all stakeholders. Part of the underlying foundation for a thriving ecosystem it to have a collaborative business environment which links to relevant industry mentors, enterprises and corporates; the other significant aspect is providing viable access to funding which includes raising venture capital, pitching opportunities to angel investors, have access to the market and etc. There are other aspects as well such as support infrastructure, robust policies and regulations, ensuring the market is strong enough to support the demand and supply of the innovation being created and sustained, education and training systems, and creating general awareness amongst the public.

Challenges come in all aspects and if we are deemed to be playing catch up then so be it, for as long as we are seen to be moving the needle from where we started.

What is MaGIC doing to support the government’s initiatives in driving Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0)?

IR 4.0 brings a range of new emerging technologies and an increasingly competitive market which the ecosystem needs to be ready for. At MaGIC, we believe in creating the next generation of resilient entrepreneurs, better equipped and agile to thrive in IR 4.0. We want to enable the growth of entrepreneurs ready to face the future, ready to play an important part in ecosystem building.

Firstly, we have the SPARK movement to create the citizens of the future via educating them to see problems as solutions and to inject the spirit of creativity in them. Secondly, we have the MaGIC Broadcast Network that will digitally distribute MaGIC’s public content to the CoWorking Alliance and partnering universities. Last but not least, we aim to establish immersive entrepreneurship programmes with local and international universities to inculcate innovative thinking.

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6. Can you elaborate more on what a Social Enterprise (SE) is, what it means to be a SE and what updates there are in the mechanics of applying for Social Enterprise status with MaGIC?

There is no uniform definition for ‘social enterprise’ around the world. We define SE as an entity with a social mission at the core of everything that they do and has a business model to meet that mission. Generally speaking, social entrepreneurship has three criteria - the ends which involve social or environmental good; the means be it selling goods or services; and a sound financial approach or business model.

Earlier in April 2019, MaGIC together with the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) launched the social enterprise guidelines and accreditation programme which encourages companies to be accredited as SEs via a user-friendly digital platform. Upon accreditation and subject to renewal every 3 years, SEs gain access to government procurement programmes (e-perolehan) and other benefits.

Technology is a key accelerator and game changer. How do you plan on leveraging technology to encourage more entrepreneurship and to promote more gender equality in the traditionally malecentric startup space?

Technology is an enabler that can radically change the way we live as well as improve it. In that sense, technology democratises access to various opportunities, be it starting a business, advocating a social cause, getting back into the workforce and many more. Innovation and use of technology cannot be separated from entrepreneurship especially so in the way the future is shaping up.

How do you see technology consumers in Malaysia? Are they tech savvy and well informed?

In its Digital 2019 Malaysia report, DataReportal shared that out of the 32.35 million people in Malaysia, 25.84 million of them are internet users. This is a 3% increase from its 2018 report. These are positive numbers and further shows that technology has changed our lives and permeates our daily tasks from finding knowledge on Wikipedia online, to performing banking with the click of a button, right down to cashless payments.

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12. From an end user perspective, what do you wish to see in the mobile or internet industry?

Definitely the need for better security to protect our data and privacy, particularly in every online transaction a consumer would embark on given the advance in mobile technology.

How do you see CFM as a consumer forum in Malaysia so far?

Great platform that allows for the entire community to engage.

What books are you reading at the moment? Why would you recommend them?

‘Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think’ by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, published in 2012. It is a great book to appreciate the world we live in. Powerful insights to replace the common thinking of pessimism and scarcity. A must read to create and live a better tomorrow.

Who or what inspired you to become the person that you are today?

I draw inspiration from the people I meet on a daily basis, as well as from trailblazers and leaders who have made history, pioneers etc. If I may say it humbly, where I am today really comes from wanting to be a better version of myself.

If you could meet anyone in the world throughout history, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Barack Obama. He is a man of true character, a realistic visionary. One that offered hope and change and gained support which almost everybody thought was impossible to begin with.

Do you have any advice for SHOUT readers on nurturing the spirit of entrepreneurship and how to become a successful entrepreneur?

To be an entrepreneur, you will need to be creative and innovative, willing to take risks, not afraid to fail, and be tenacious among others. You would also have to think global in building a solution that would not only solve problems in Malaysia, but also for our neighbouring countries and international markets in order to gain traction and be sustainable.