GXBank, Grab To Support KL20 Plan With New Centre Of Excellence & Mentorship Programmes

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

25th April 2024 - 3 min read

Digital bank GXBank has said that it will be working with parent company Grab to roll out several initiatives to elevate the country’s tech talent, in support of the government’s KL20 action plan. These include the establishment of a regional centre of excellence (COE) and participation in mentorship programmes.

GXBank, specifically, will be establishing a COE for shared services in Malaysia, which aims to serve Grab-led digital banks, as well as financial and operational services in the region. Set to start operations by the end of 2024, it will offer almost 400 roles focusing on core banking activities; these include banking operations, technology, and risk management.

In a statement, GXBank also highlighted that the establishment of the COE is part of its RM1.5 billion investment into Malaysia in the upcoming five years. By leveraging the country’s infrastructure and progressive policies, it hopes to help position Malaysia as a central hub to revolutionise the region’s digital finance and banking landscape.

Aside from that, GXBank and Grab are both collaborating with entrepreneur affiliate platform Endeavour Malaysia to mentor selected local, high-potential entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth via the ScaleUp and TEGAS: Scale Sarawak Programme. Among other things, personnel from both GXBank and Grab will work with local start-up entrepreneurs to hone their leadership skills, develop business and marketing expansion strategies, and tap into innovative technology and data.

Chief executive officer of GXBank, Lai Pei Si stressed that these initiatives will contribute to the bank’s long-term goal of cultivating high-value skills that can enhance the region’s digital banking industry. This is in addition to its main objective of boosting financial inclusion among Malaysians, especially the unserved and underserved segments.

“Building on our current more than 400-strong team, we want to harvest and nurture the rich talent we have in Malaysia. We aim to create a dynamic environment in which they can challenge the status quo, raise the overall competencies, and create best-in-class practices in the digital finance industry,” said Lai.

Meanwhile, managing director of Grab Malaysia, Adelene Foo said that GXBank and Grab’s collaboration with Endeavour Malaysia will give both the entities a meaningful opportunity to give back to the nation, assisting start-ups in realising their full potential.

“As a Malaysian homegrown company that has flourished to be the leading superapp in the region, we are cognisant of our roots and grateful for the support we received in our early days, including early funding from Cradle,” said Foo, adding that they will be able to bring a wealth of insights and experience given their global presence.

For context, the Malaysian government had recently organised the two-day KL20 Summit 2024, which sought to stimulate Malaysia’s startup scene by addressing key issues, such as funding, regulatory barriers, and talent attraction.

Aside from featuring numerous prolific speakers and personalities, the event also saw the announcement of various initiatives to attract and support start-ups. These include an investment of up to RM3 billion by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP), and Blue Chip Venture Capital (BCVC) under the ASEAN Investment Initiative for the Southeast Asian (SEA) and Malaysia ecosystems. Separately, Khazanah Nasional will also launch a “National Fund of Funds” with an initial RM1 billion allocation to invest in Malaysian companies with potential.

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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