KUALA LUMPUR: Seated at hot desks in a Klang Valley co-working space, Shamsiah Ismail and her colleague run their service-learning provider start-up for international school students.
An interior shot of WORQ's Glo Damansara facility, its very first outlet set up in 2017. The operator has since expanded to four facilities, with one in nearby Petaling Jaya's Mutiara Damansara neighbourhood devoted to enterprise solutions. Co-working spaces have been growing in popularity in the Klang Valley over the last few years.
“This sector was expected to continue its growth until the pandemic hit, which put co-working operators in especially tough cashflow positions as the MCO forced centres to close and subsequently, some members opted to terminate their contracts,” he said, referring to the nationwide lockdown known as the movement control order introduced on Mar 18.
“We started our first outlet in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in March 2017. That was 13,000 sq ft in size and was generating a revenue of RM1.4 million ,” he said. As Malaysia transitioned into its first conditional MCO back in May, Akinci said the premises saw a quick return of about 10 per cent of their membership.“Understandably, some members preferred to work from home until the recovery MCO but on the other hand, there were members who were quite eager to restart their business engines.
A peek into the interior of Common Ground's Damansara Heights facility, which opens out onto a panoramic view of of Kuala Lumpur city. Business continuity plans or packages, a trend which has picked up post-lockdown, allow companies to quickly set up their workforce in fully-equipped business suites or private offices.
While navigating the challenges presented by the pandemic, the co-working spaces also continue to play a role in building up Malaysia’s start-up ecosystem through partnerships with the government, whether at federal or state level. These include the availability of funding opportunities and facilitation, talent development, a key tech anchor for growth collaboration, and generally providing a conducive environment for start-ups to grow.
To help local businesses and start-ups struggling with the Klang Valley office rental and signing long-term contracts in a period of economic uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, co-working space operators who are certified Malaysia Digital Hubs have also collaborated with MDEC to offer a limited period Digital Hub Passes.
Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)
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