Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre

The Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre or MaGIC is an innovation and creativity centre located at Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre
TypeGovernment-linked company (GLC)
Founded27 April 2014
HeadquartersBlock 3730, Persiaran APEC, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Key people
Dzuleira Abu Bakar (CEO)
YBhg. Dato Abdul Rahman bin Dato’ Mohd Hashim (Chairman)
ParentMinistry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI)
Websitewww.mymagic.my

The centre which is under the Ministry of Finance was officially opened on 27 April 2014, by former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak and his counterpart US President, Barack Obama in conjunction of his visit to the country from 26 to 28 April 2014.

Cheryl Yeoh was appointed as the first and founding CEO of MaGIC on 15 April 2014[1] and ended her contract on 14 January 2016.[2][3]

History

In April 2014, Cheryl Yeoh was headhunted by the government of Malaysia and appointed as the first CEO of MaGIC, leaving her career in Silicon Valley.[4]

MaGIC was given an initial grant of US$21.4 million and was launched by former President Barack Obama and Malaysian's former Prime Minister Najib Razak on 27 April 2014.[5]

In 2015, MaGIC started out by running accelerator programs for startup companies in Malaysia, led by a team handpicked by Yeoh. The first intake brought in 77 startups, making MaGIC's accelerator program the largest in Southeast Asia.[6]

Yeoh stepped down on 14 January 2016 after her contract period ended.[7] Her CEO position was replaced by Ashran Ghazi shortly after.[8]

In November 2018, Ashran Ghazi announced his resignation to join consumer intelligence firm, Dattel.[9] His position was replaced by former venture capitalist from Cradle Seed Ventures, Dzuleira Abu Bakar, in April 2019.[10][11]

In September 2020, MaGIC kicked off the fourth cohort of their Global Accelerator Program (GAP) with 40 participating startup teams.[12]

Building

The Obama Oval at the building compound was named after US President Barack Obama.

Employees

Key MaGIC employees have gone on to start startups such as Amazing Fables[13] and GoCar.[14]

References
  1. "CEO Cheryl Yeoh Lays Out MaGIC's Ingredients". Malay Mail.
  2. "Cheryl Yeoh MaGIC Legacy". Tech in Asia.
  3. "Whatever I Work On In The Future Will Have a Global Impact: Cheryl Yeoh". e27.
  4. "CEO Cheryl Yeoh lays out MaGIC's ingredients". Digital News Asia. 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  5. "Obama to lend MaGIC touch | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  6. "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  7. Tung, Colin. "Whatever I work on in the future will have global impact: Cheryl Yeoh". e27. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  8. "MaGIC confirms appointment of Ashran Ghazi as new CEO". Digital News Asia. 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  9. Tung, Yon Heong. "MaGIC CEO Ashran Ghazi is stepping down". e27. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  10. "Dzuleira appointed new CEO of MaGIC | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  11. "MaGIC appoints former venture capitalist, Dzuleira Abu Bakar as new CEO". BEAMSTART - Business Community, Resources, & Opportunities. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  12. "MaGIC'S Global Accelerator Programme Cohort 4 2020 Underway With 40 Promising Startups". BEAMSTART - Business Community, Resources, & Opportunities. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  13. FM, Player. "Storytime With Amazing Fables BFM :: Open For Business podcast". player.fm. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  14. "BFM: The Business Radio Station - Can GoCar Go The Distance?". www.bfm.my. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
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