Despite playing an integral role in encouraging and guiding technology based entrepreneurs in Malaysia, the Venture business plan competitions of the past had one big problem - venture capitalists did not consider the winners good enough to provide them funding. In this year's competition, however, the situation has changed somewhat.
   One of the 10 finalists - Infinite Test Solutions - has received 5 million in funding from Expedient Equity Sdn Bhd. Infinite Test Solutions has developed wireless technology solutions for communications devices, automotive produces and security devices. Another finalist, meanwhile, is believed to be an advanced negotiations with a venture capitalist.
   Moreover, while the two previous competitions - Venture 2001 and Venture 2002 - focused on helping budding entrepreneurs with the development of a good business plan, this year's competition - Venture Accelerate 2003 - sought to achieve the objective of accelerating the development of promising entrepreneurs into successful start-ups. This took the competition to a new level, where technopreneurs received personalised mentoring and coaching.

   The payers are provided with detailed reports, such as the total amount spent on medical claims and which of the company's divisions is spending the highest on medical claims. So far, Malaysia Airlines, TMNet, Digi Telecommunications and 800-plus hospitals and clinics are using Medijaring's system.
   The other winner of the award is iNix Technologies, which aims to pioneer the research and development of the wireless security and intelligent home automation systems. Its flagship product - "SecureSmith" Smart Home - comes in a box combined with security, CCTV surveillance and power line automation control.
   "The product allows one to view your house remotely, via a PDA or cellphone connected to the Internet," explains co-founder Jimmy Tok. iNix, which received RM2 million in venture-capital funding from Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd in April last year, targets individual house owners as well as developers for their product, which retails at around RM2,000. With 13 of its engineers focusing on R&D, iNix has filed two patents in Malaysia.

   Of the 10 finalists, two were picked for the "Most Promising Start-up" award, while another won the prize for the "Most Improved Start-up after Mentoring.
   Medijaring was one of the two chosen for the most promising start-up award. According to the judges, this company stood out for its online medical claims management system, which links healthcare providers to paying companies.
   Kamarul Azman Mustapha Kamal, a co-founder of Medijaring, says the company's value proposition to large corporations is the business-process outsourcing of their medical-benefit management.
   "Using our system, hospitals and clinics are able to efficiently verify staff and their dependants who are entitled to benefits. These can rely on us to submit their claims to the paying companies. This way, delays in payment and wrongly filed claims are avoided," he explains.