Many ambitious people are no longer striving to climb the corporate ladder. Perhaps, you’re one of those people! We could see more and more of them are stepping out from the conglomerate world and jump into startups or create their own empire. Ditching the 9-5 offices, working at a cafe has become a norm for many startups — an affordable and flexible option.
With countless startups mushrooming in popularity in recent years all over the world, in parallel, coworking hype has also invaded around the globe. At no surprise, the first Malaysia-born coworking center, Paper + Toast, opened its doors back in 2010 in Kuala Lumpur. Since then, many coworking spaces have been popping up in Malaysia to serve the needs of flexibility and functionality that won’t break the bank for most SMEs. And proudly to say, even the leading homegrown coworking space operator, Common Ground, has successfully taken root in The Philippines with three outlets in Manila.
Fast forward to 2019, businesses are now spoiled for choice when searching for a coworking space in Kuala Lumpur. Not to mention, this hip state-of-the-art workspace concept also has landed into other cities throughout Malaysia like Penang, Johor Bharu, Kedah, Ipoh, and even the East Malaysia cities.
Malaysia Startup Ecosystem; Highly Supported by Government and Venture Capitals
There are many factors contributing to the growth of the coworking spaces in Malaysia, or specifically Kuala Lumpur. Started from the formation of Vision 2020 by Tun Mahathir during his first leadership as Prime Minister, the Malaysian startup ecosystem has grown rapidly, especially in the tech industry. With the support from both government and venture capitals — Cradle Fund, Startup Malaysia, 500 Durians — Malaysia has slowly begun to establish itself as a global entrepreneurial force.
Tech Business Landscape Appears to be Promising
It has been 19 years since the event. The emerging startup ecosystem makes it an exceptional platform for entrepreneurs to thrive. At no surprise, the tech scene in Malaysia can be seen to be relatively crowded. Many tech-based companies are now perhaps embedded into most people’s daily life as they bring forth convenience in their business model in modernizing existing service offerings. We can see Fave, ShopBack, Grab, Dahmakan, Shopee, and other digital businesses have grown and are still growing in Asia including Malaysia due to the support from the public who are satisfied with their services.
Coworking Spaces are The Life Savior for New Businesses
While establishing a successful business, indeed, every startup will need to face an extremely challenging and mystifying task, yet it doesn’t need to be done alone! This is where coworking spaces come into the picture. Working with other like-minded people in a shared space allows for greater collaboration through community-initiated events, it provides business support through various external services such as legal, mentoring, and even funding! It provides much more than a workplace! This is a perfect creative and innovative enclave for startups to flourish even wider and wilder.
The Future of Coworking in Malaysia
Of course, we don’t know what the future holds. But, the flexible workspace scene is currently growing in its numbers with more and more operators opening in Malaysia, including both international and local big players — WeWork, Compass Offices, Komune, Colony, and the list goes on. While the entrepreneurship ecosystem continues to strive, coworking space industry is likely to foresee a considerable increase. All that being said, locals are still needed to be educated and widely acknowledged for the endless benefits and countless perks of the membership.
Hopefully this entry is beneficial for you so that you can picture the situation of flexible offices in Malaysia. If you’re planning for a change and looking forward to a better business opportunity, maybe you can start off with surround yourself with fresh, young startup vibe. The easiest, less costly way is by renting a coworking desk for you and your teammates. Head over to our platform, and drop us a request for booking on 8Spaces.