PETALING JAYA (March 16): IOI Properties Group Bhd gave selected start-ups RM50,000 at the IOI Kickstart grant presentation event on Wednesday (March 16). The six start-ups, narrowed down from 40 entries, are operational and have set up their offices at 2 Rio office block in IOI Rio, Bandar Puteri Puchong.

“IOI Kickstart is an innovative and first-of-its-kind incubation programme by IOI Properties Group. It is aimed at providing a launch pad for selected promising start-ups in the proptech, agritech and green solutions arena to realise their business ideas,” said CEO Datuk Voon Tin Yow in his speech at the official presentation.

The event was also attended by executive director and head of the IOI Kickstart programme Lee Yoke Har and COO Teh Chin Guan along with other IOI team members.

The six start-ups occupy office lots on Level 3 of the 2 Rio office block, which has 15 lots from 800 to 1,600 sq ft. On average, office space in the block can be rented out for RM2.50 psf but the start-ups are allotted the space for free.

The awarded start-ups are Arus Oil, which collects used cooking oil to convert to biodiesel; FESLink, which offers cloud-based management system; GrabMaid, allows price comparison and direct booking for cleaning services from various vendors; LinkUp Smart Solutions offers smart home devices linked to the cloud; Safe-T5 has a cloud-based slope monitoring system; and Tomorrow Data, an app developer, who has worked with IOI Properties to develop end-to-end leads and sales tracking process.

The IOI Kickstart programme is for three years but according to Lee, IOI Properties will continue to support the start-ups beyond that time frame if required.

"The start-up companies will benefit from much-valued mentoring of IOI Properties Group's C-Suite led by executive director, Lee Yoke Har, providing insights on what would appeal to customers as well as priority business opportunities to jointly develop and provide their products and services to the group's projects," Voon added.

IOI Rio is a Next-Gen smart city located in the 930-acre integrated development of Bandar Puteri Puchong. It is equipped with IT and telecommunications infrastructure. Additionally, there is good connectivity and mature surroundings.