By Stephanie Jacob
Arun Verma (L), Tony Fernandes (C), Gareth Lim (R)
AirAsia Bhd’s founders Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun together with Lim Kian Onn have banded together to launch Tune Labs, a startup incubator and accelerator programme which will seek to identify, mentor and fund entrepreneurs across the Asean region.
Collectively known as the founders, the three have committed a collective RM5 million of their own money towards the programme. Tony Fernandes said setting up such a programme to help the startup scene in Asean has always been a personal goal of his.
“There is a lot of talent in the region which has lacked access and opportunities … through Tune Labs my partners and I seek to provide the guidance and mentorship that we found hard to come by in the early days of building AirAsia,” Fernandes added.
While acknowledging there were several investment groups in Malaysia which fund businesses, Fernandes said what sets Tune Labs apart is that it offers mentorship and access to networks which have already been established by the founders.
Tune Labs will be helmed by Arun Verma and Gareth Lim who are currently under the Tune Group, while the three founders will sit on its board. It will offer two programmes – the incubator programme and the accelerator programme.
The incubator programme will be conducted three times a year and it is a 12-week long startup boot camp for participants with interesting or innovative ideas who have either not started to develop or are only in the early stages.
Under this programme, participants will be given the opportunity to work closely with the founders and others to develop their ideas with the aim of establishing viable commercial propositions, explained Verma.
The accelerator programme will be where viable ideas and business plans are taken and expedited to the market. The founders will assist participants by providing access to capital and through sourcing and introducing them to relevant partners for their projects.
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