1.4.2 Local start-up financial assistance
Skim geran ICC & Geran Komuniti Iskandar Puteri Rendah Karbon 4.0
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Innovation & Commercialisation Centre (ICC) institutionalizes financial support for start-ups, as detailed on its public "Funding" webpage. This centre provides a structured ecosystem of financial resources, including "Prototype Development Funding," "Technology Implementation Funding," "Product Development Fund," and "Small Medium Enterprise Innovation Technology Accelerator" grants. These funds (e.g., PDF1 up to RM30,000 and PDF2 up to RM50,000) are specifically designed to provide direct financial assistance to move university-linked innovations and spin-off companies from the lab to the market, thereby supporting the "start-up" of "financially sustainable businesses."
Second, UTM provides targeted financial assistance with an explicit social sustainability mandate through the "Geran Komuniti Iskandar Puteri Rendah Karbon" (Iskandar Puteri Low Carbon Community Grant), publicly managed by the UTM Centre for Community and Industry Network (CCIN) in collaboration with the local council (MBIP). This programme, evidenced by its official Google Site and Facebook announcements, provides direct grants (e.g., up to RM 50,000 in its 4.0 iteration) to the "local community" of Iskandar Puteri. The grant's stated priorities—such as "Green and Smart Infrastructure," "Sustainable Waste Management," "Food Security," and "Climate Adaptation"—ensure that the financial assistance is exclusively channeled to "socially sustainable" initiatives, directly supporting the UN SDGs. Together, the ICC's commercialisation funding and the CCIN's community low-carbon grants constitute a comprehensive, publicly documented strategy of providing financial assistance to the local community for both financially and socially sustainable start-ups.
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