Sunway Iskandar targets to be an innovation hotspot
21 September, SUNWAY ISKANDAR – Johor’s biggest SME Community Builder, BIG WHEEL has today officially opened of its flagship two-acre BIG WHEEL SEEDBANK in the Green-Building Index-certified Sunway Southern Region Hub today, it’s largest space yet in Malaysia.
The opening was officiated by Johor International Investment and Utility Committee chairman, Jimmy Puah Wee Tse; Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) CEO, Datuk Dr Ismail Bin Ibrahim, with Onecle Solution’s Founder and Managing Director, Michael Chang along with Deputy Managing Director, Iskandar & International Property Development, Sunway Berhad, Tan Wee Bee and Sunway Iskandar Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gerard Soosay.
Johor International Investment and Utility Committee chairman, Puah said that BIG WHEEL ‘s expansion into Sunway Iskandar bodes well for the state of Johor as the BIG WHEEL SEEDBANK’s flagship office will facilitate more investments into Iskandar Malaysia Region.
“According to BIG WHEEL, the company has been an instrumental part of the ecosystem, helping close to 113 companies grow their business in Johor in their Big Wheel spaces. These companies have now cumulative ywarl revenues of RM 40 million, with some of them being regional players. The additional of BIG WHEEL in to the robust entrepreneurship ecosystem in Sunway Iskandar will benefit Johor immensely. We look forward to see these two community builders come together to flourish enterprises in Johor,” said Puah.
Datuk Dr Ismail added, “I am confident that innovative collaborations between major stakeholders, such as the one between BIG WHEEL and Sunway Iskandar this morning, will not only attract investments that contribute towards the region’s RM 383 billion target, but more importantly, it will definitely contribute to our 8000,000 jobs creation target by 2025. We look for this collaboration to create even more jobs as Sunway and BIG WHEEL partner to enhance the ecosystem.”
BIG WHEEL targets 400 companies with job creation potential of 1,000; has sights set on Asean
Change said that over three years, the company has helped international and domestic clients in a variety of industries (including trading, manufacturing, e-commerce, automotive and transportation, professional services, blockchain, web and app development, finance, wellness and healthcare) ranging from start-ups to international companies from Singapore, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, China Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Dubai Hong Kong and Switzerland.
“Both start-ups and international companies wanting to invest here have shared with us that their main challenge is that they lack technical, capital support and network support. A common challenge amongst foreign investors is that they do not know how to find high-skilled talents, business collaboration platforms or connect to government agencies to gather information for their medium and small investments. We hope to help them solve these challenges,” he said.
“Our flagship BIG WHEEL SEEDBANK in Sunway Iskandar is part of our strategic expansion plan. Now that we are in close proximity to Singapore, Educity and Kota Iskandar – the central business district and administrative capital of Johor, and a smart city with intelligent services, green technologies and business-friendly infrastructure – this new flagship space will help our clients expand into ASEAN market. For us, this new location will also be a stepping stone for us to expand into the ASEAN market.”
BIG WHEEL intends to welcome 400 clients in their new space with a targeted potential job creation for 1,000 high-skilled workers.
“We currently host international companies with some RM 4000 million to invest in Malaysia. With our current database, close collaboration with the private sector and the government, we are sure that we can bring in even more foreign investment to contribute to the socio-economic development of the region.”
As an pioneering SME Community Builder in Johor, BIG WHEEL operates lifestyle offices which comprise co-working spaces and event spaces complemented with services such as business office, business consultation, corporate advisory, as well as management and administrative services.
This wil be the third BIG WHEEL space, following its spaces in Mount Austin, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. BIG WHEEL is currently the largest SME Community Builder in Johor with 23,000 sq feet of space in Johor alone, and a cumulative floor space of 30,000 sq feet across Malaysia and Cambodia.
Robust entrepreneurship ecosystem in Sunway Iskandar
Sunway Iskandar CEO, MR. Gerard Soosay said that one of the strategic thrusts for Sunway Iskandar is to create an innovation hotspot within the city.
“We are delighted to welcome BIG WHEEL into Sunway Iskandar who will benefit from our location, which is closest to Singapore by way of the Second Link.”
He said that the Sunway Iskandar is intent on creating a robust entrepreneurship community within the township, as businesses can benefit from township’s proximity to Educity and other catalyst developments such as Pinewoods studios, Bio-Xcell and the Global Business Centres in Iskandar Puteri.
“We are now building the business communities here in Sunway Iskandar. We have enterprise spaces in Sunway Citrine Hub and we look forward to building a robust entrepreneurship community especially with the upcoming Sunway Grid, Sunway Emerald Boulevard 88 and Sunway Big Bos Village,” added Soosay.
“Entrepreneurs will also be able to leverage Sunway Iskandar’s current growth. We have completed residential, educational and office developments and have tourism components underway – a 32-acre extreme park (Sunway Iskandar X-park), and 5000,000 sq feet large format mall (Sunway Big Box Village), while a four-star hotel attached to Sunway Big Box Village is being slated for 2020. In the near future we will have a lot more exciting developments coming up.”
BIG WHEEL SEEDBANK in Sunway Iskandar Regional Office comes equipped with a gym, café, and various lifestyle amenities across two stories. For more information on how to be a part of the BIG WHEEL SEEDBANK community, please log on to www.bigwheel.my.