IIB Ventures Sdn Bhd (IIB Ventures), a subsidiary of Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) and Malaysian Technology Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (MTDC), has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to establish a Smart city in Johor transforming Medini Iskandar Malaysia into a Digital Hub.
This collaboration aspires to develop Robotic Centre of Excellence (CoE), developing up to 200 technopreneurs focusses in robotic and the emerging industry 4R technology. It also outlines initiative to support activities which in line with MTDC’s centre of 9 pillars to offer local companies an affordable and impactful industry 4.0 solutions.
The MoU was signed by MTDC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Norhalim Yunus and Zulfiqar Zainuddin, Director and Managing Director of IIB Ventures.
IIB’s President and CEO, Khairil Anwar Ahmad commented, “The signing of the MOU for the establishment of the Robotics CoE is an exciting development through which we aim to develop 200 technopreneurs in Iskandar Puteri in the next five years. This will be attained through programmes under Iskandar NEXT namely the Iskandar Innovation Hub and Drone and Robotics Zone (‘DRZ’) Iskandar, among others.”
As part of this agreement, IIB would also provide access to markets for commercialisation prospects, consulting services for funding, access to industry mentors, build visibility, awareness, and provide essential regulatory facilitation to enterprises moving to the region.
Meanwhile, Norhalim Yunus, Chief Executive Officer MTDC said, “The Robotics CoE will be the first of MTDC’s Centre of 9 Pillars™ collaboration with IIBV in the Southern Region, to further strengthen our efforts to provide a platform for local Industry 4.0 solution providers to develop, grow and offer their services and innovative Industry 4.0 solutions to various industry sectors in Johor.”
“This partnership will also increase the enormous potential for developing local talents to be i4.0 ready, as MTDC has local enterprises in its ecosystem that are already manufacturing customised i4.0 solutions, such as robotics, autonomous robots, and drones, which may be expanded into the Robotics CoE,” he added.
Additionally, this will enable MTDC to launch its talent development programmes in the Southern region for SMEs, universities, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Iskandar Investment Berhad will serve as the host platform for advisory services in the Southern region.
Emphasising on the importance of good ‘Governance’ and the impact of business activities to the world, This MOU is part of these companies’ effort to develop technopreneurs and Johor’s digital aspiration falls under the ‘Social’ obligation of ESG.
