Cyberjaya, 22 April 2025: The ERIA Digital Innovation and Sustainable Economy Centre (E-DISC) proudly participated in MYStartup NXT 2025, hosted by Cradle Fund in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. The event gathered key players from across Southeast Asia’s innovation ecosystems to explore strategies, forge alliances, and develop practical solutions to accelerate inclusive and sustainable growth through startups.

Kentaro Machii, ERIA’s Programme Manager on Startup Ecosystem, took part as a panellist in the main session titled ‘Elevate 2025: Game-Changing Strategies, Powerful Alliances & ASEAN’s Rise’. He was joined by several esteemed regional leaders, including:

• Datuk Ts. Dr Mohd Nor Azman Hassan, Deputy Secretary-General (Technology Development) at Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI)
• Dr Kanchana Wanichkorn, Director of Sectoral Development at the ASEAN Economic Community
• Zehan Teoh (Moderator), SVP of Ecosystem Development at Cradle Fund

The session highlighted the vital role of cross-border collaboration, regional policy alignment, and multi-stakeholder engagement in unlocking ASEAN’s next wave of innovation. Panellists emphasised the urgency of turning dialogue into action – converting alliances and shared visions into measurable progress for startups across the region.

Mr Machii showcased E-DISC’s initiatives aimed at supporting ASEAN startups in establishing cross-border collaborations. He also stressed the importance of partnerships amongst ecosystem builders in each country, as well as the value of sharing knowledge and experiences across the region to contribute to inclusive development.

E-DISC also joined other ecosystem partners in contributing to the event’s knowledge-sharing sessions, alongside organisations such as PETRONAS, AWS, Zoho, Joget, KLDX, StartupCorners, and PACE by Artem. Atika Mutiara Insani, Project Officer at E-DISC, presented ERIA’s initiatives focused on nurturing ASEAN startups that contribute to regional growth and address social issues by connecting with the global ecosystem. These initiatives include the E-DISC Membership for startups and other ecosystem builders, the publication of ERIA One ASEAN Start-up White Paper 2024, and the One ASEAN Startup Award – E-DISC’s flagship event now entering its second year.

E-DISC’s participation also reinforced the growing significance of innovation platforms that are backed by policy research, which can then provide both strategic direction and operational support to support the growth of the regional ecosystem.