//

LaunchPad is currently incubating four startups — Scoot, PayrollPanda, Pamperoo and Karyaab — in addition to two unnamed ventures

LaunchPad, a Kuala Lumpur-based startup incubator that develops and nurtures ideas in-house, has secured US$1 million in “pre-idea pre-seed funding” from a group of unnamed investors outside the country.

According to Founder and CEO Asim Qureshi, the investment reflects the investor confidence in the Malaysian market despite the uncertain economic conditions.

“The Malaysian startup scene has a great ecosystem and [is] an ideal stepping stone for other markets in ASEAN — for both developed markets like Singapore and less-developed markets such as Indonesia,” he said.

Also Read: Malaysia-based startup Offpeak bags US$117,000 grant from Cradle Fund

Unlike other typical startup incubators that mentor and invest in external ideas, LaunchPad incubates startups in-house and brings in co-founders, in addition to providing them with access to shared resources such as accountants, tech support and offices.

LaunchPad is primarily looking for proven business models from developed markets that can be launched from its pads in Malaysia into other Asian markets, Qureshi told e27. The incubation can stretch until the startups get VC funding.

“Much of our team is remote, which allows us to draw on an international talent pool. We have some of our key guys, including equity partners, living in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, England and Scotland,” Qureshi added.

Currently, LaunchPad is working on four startups — Scoot, an online job platform; PayrollPanda, a payroll SaaS company; Pamperoo, a beauty-booking portal; and Karyaab, a online job platform focusing on certain Middle Eastern markets — in addition to two unnamed ventures.

Also Read: Scoot shows you jobs in Malaysia that are nearest to you

Qureshi is an Oxford graduate and former Vice President at investment banks Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. He previous started ThinkProperty.my, which was acquired by iProperty in 2010.

The post Malaysia’s LaunchPad raises US$1M to incubate startups in-house appeared first on e27.

from e27 http://ift.tt/1TEpcpH