A Boost to Local Creative Industry: MyCreative Awards RM21 Million Funding To 15 Successful Companies

On 17th February 2014, MyCreative Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (MyCreative) announced fifteen (15) creative companies that were awarded RM21 million worth of financing. The awards were presented to those companies by the Prime Minister, Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Najib Razak in Putrajaya. MyCreative aims to spur Malaysia's creative industry via strategic and innovative funding in a form of equity, debt or hybrid of both.

MyCreative has clustered the Creative Arts industry for financing purposes that covers seven pillars namely Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Music, Literature, Creative Content, Fashion & Design and Traditional/Cultural Arts. MyCreative has received over 100 applications from the creative community since its launch where interested applicants are required to pitch their business ideas to the committee set by the Company.

Johan Ishak, MyCreative’s CEO, said that “MyCreative is still in the midst of assessing these 100 over applications of which, 20 companies are almost 80% qualified pending finer details and fifteen (15) have been approved for financing. The fifteen (15) companies are players from Visual Arts, Fashion, Music, Performing Arts and Content Creation.”

MyCreative’s Chairman, Dato’ Sri Ahmad Farid Ridzuan, is very optimistic with such efforts. He believes that these financial packages of approximately RM21 million will instil entrepreneurship drive amongst the recipients in the creative industry, in the hopes that others in the market will follow suit with the entrepreneurship spirit.

MyCreative has high hopes for these successful applicants:

1 ) ArtCube (Visual Arts)
2) Clothier Creation – Khoon Hooi (Fashion)
3) Melinda Looi International (Fashion)
4) Akarkarya (Music)
5) MyPAA (Performing Arts)
6) Accurve Studios (Video Games)
7) DragonSlate (Content Creation - Filming)
8) Comoddity (Fashion)
9) Pearly Wong Collection (Fashion)
10) Point College (Creative Academy)
11) Fern Design (Fashion)
12) dUCk (Fashion)
13) Platinum Unik (Orang Asli Crafts)
14) Masakini Theatre (Performing Arts)
15) Legau Sudin (Creative Content)

Apart from the applications through its official website www.mycreative.com.my, MyCreative is also actively searching for potential applicants through initiatives such as roadshows and exhibitions. The latest initiative embarked by MyCreative was ‘Fashion Pitch’, conducted in June 2013

“So far, we have marked 2013 as a successful first year for MyCreative Ventures in fulfilling the mandate given to us. This year, we shall be more aggressive in searching for potential investees through comprehensive and strategic partnership and collaboration with industry players. At times, we may go for some roadshows and roll-up our sleeves to search for companies with good business models from the grass root,” Johan added.