A NEW incubator and accelerator programme aimed at nurturing start-ups in the travel, payments and retail verticals in South-east Asia was launched last Friday, backed by the big names behind AirAsia Group.
Called Tune Labs, the programme will dispense RM5 million (US$1.4 million) to support regional entrepreneurs and was founded by Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and Lim Kian Onn.
Tony Fernandes said in a release: “It has always been a personal goal of mine to promote and grow the start-up scene in South-east Asia. There is a lot of talent in the region which, to date, has lacked the access and opportunities that are readily available to budding entrepreneurs in the West.
“Through Tune Labs, my partners and I seek to provide the guidance and mentorship that we found hard to come by in the early days of building AirAsia and envisage a structured environment to encourage, validate and ultimately implement exciting, new ideas that will hopefully revolutionise and change the way we go about our everyday lives.”
Tune Labs consists of two distinct paths for applicants to develop and cultivate their ideas.
The first component, the incubator, will be conducted three times a year. Each session is a 12-week bootcamp for applicants with early-stage ideas with the aim of transforming those ideas into commercially viable propositions.
The accelerator programme provides entrepreneurs with access to capital and partnership so they can launch validated ideas and business plans – which may also include graduates from the incubator programme – in the market.
Both programmes give participants access to partnerships developed over the years by the founders, the established infrastructure and support system of Tune Group and the ability to leverage in-house technical and software development capabilities.
Lim Kian Onn said: “Tune Labs allows aspiring entrepreneurs to concentrate solely on developing and growing their ideas. The ability to utilise the wider Group’s assets coupled with essentials like office space, finance and legal – will significantly reduce costs and improve management focus.”
Further information on Tune Labs and information on application are available atwww.thetunelabs.com.
