Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) was recently recognised with an industry award for its continued positive impact on the country’s digital economy.
MDEC won the Start-up Ecosystem Award which was received by its chief digital industry officer Gopi Ganesalingam (centre in pic above) from the National Tech Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) chairman Dr Sean Seah (left) and deputy chairman Ong Chin Seong.
The MDEC tech ecosystem and globalisation (TEG) department looks at elevating Malaysia’s digital ecosystem to be of global standards, while covering stakeholders from TEG covers stakeholders from govt (public) industry (private) and global ecosystems.
Areas covered are community engagements with entrepreneurs, accelerators, venture builders, funders/investors, policy makers – from startup disruptors to scaling them to be unicorns. It also oversees talent development to ensure the Malaysian ecosystem keeps up with the needs of the industry, while floating up global players and the personas behind local brands.
The award is one of a number highlighted at the PIKOM Unicorn Tech Awards Night 2021 to recognise top changemakers of the industry.
The awards, held in collaboration with WITSA Global ICT Excellence Award and ASOCIO Awards, saw a strong presence of 450 C-Level and Senior Representatives from the tech industry, Pikom said in a statement.
Sean congratulated all the winners and said: “You are the changemakers of the future and we will carry the torch in working together with you and the government to spearhead the digital and tech industry.”
ASOCIO and WITSA were included to resonate with the association and spur higher growth for the industry and a regional and global context.
The ASOCIO and WITSA awards were announced in November last year and the ceremony was to applaud the Malaysian winners of the awards.
PIKOM Unicorn Tech Awards Night organising chair, Alex Liew said, “There is synergy in collaboration with our partners. Recognising all the champions on one prominent platform is a practical approach, instead of having them done separately.” The Lead Judge for the Unicorn Tech Awards was Stan Singh, a Pikom councillor.
Attending as the guest of honour was Ma.Sivanesan Marimuthu, deputy secretary general (Telecommunications Infrastructure and Digital Economy) at Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia.
“We have close relations with the ministry of communications and multimedia and its governments agencies for many years. We look forward to continuously working together towards the progressive and agile developments for the digital economy,” said Sean.
The list of the winners are:
UNICORN Tech Awards 2021
| Name of Award | Winner |
| Technology Organization Excellence Award | SP Setia Berhad |
| Member Excellence Award | Microsoft Malaysia |
| Technopreneur Excellence Award | Ts. Tharmaindran K. GannasinBnetworks Sdn Bhd |
| CIO Excellence Award | Nilesh Timbadia, Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) Sdn. Bhd.Kevin Khoo, Sunway BerhadRoslind Kaur Kirpal Singh, Axiata Group Berhad |
| Rising Digital Leader Award(In collaboration with MDEC) | Forest Interactive Sdn BhdMerchantrade Asia Sdn BhdSophic Automation Sdn BhdTranglo Sdn BhdSEA Gamer Mall Sdn Bhd |
| Special Recognition Award(In collaboration with MDEC) | Huawei Malaysia |
| GBS Excellence Award | Dell Global Business Center Sdn. Bhd |
WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards
| Name of Award | Winner |
| PRIVATE SECTOR | |
| Sustainable Growth/Circular Economy Award | Rentwise Sdn Bhd |
| Public/Private Partnership Award | Century Software (M) Sdn Bhd |
| E-Education & Learning Award | Think Osem Sdn Bhd |
| PUBLIC SECTOR | |
| Startup Ecosystem Award | MDEC Tech Ecosystem & Globalisation |
ASOCIO Awards 2021 Category
| Name of Award | Winner |
| Outstanding Tech Company Award | Fusionex Group |
| Outstanding User Organization Award | Hartalega NGC Sdn Bhd |
| Digital Government Award | Penang State Government |
| EdTech Award | Business Technovise Innovation |
| HealthTech Award | Heydoc International Sdn Bhd. |
