(Left to right) Ch’ng Jun Bin; Sashmikha A/P K Nagasundram; Sarween Alages; Tan Ze Han Dylan; Wilson Low, Founder and Director of Wilstech Sdn. Bhd.; YB Datuk Ewon Benedick, Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (MECD); Hemini A/P Mani Segaran; Lau Pei Tong; Chan Meng Hui; Aiman Humaira Binti Azrul Rozaiman; Yelilan A/L Rajarajan; Lau Say Heng
The official launch event of eMOBIQ® saw YB Datuk Ewon Benedick, Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (MECD) applauding Team Universiti Putra Malaysia for triumphing as the grand champion of the first and largest no-coding app development competition ever held in Malaysia – the eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023. The team of 10 individuals was commended for employing real-life working solutions to common-day problems and providing aid to communities through their mobile application called “FinCare”. The competition illustrates the ease and convenience for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to effectively utilize the No-code Rapid Mobile App Development (RMAD) platform to transition digitally in order to strengthen Malaysia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and meet its transformation goals.
Recent surveys from the World Bank show that more than 80 percent of medium and large firms invested in digital solutions as compared to 54 percent of small firms; financial limitations and the lack of digital skills within the country were indicated to be key elements of these constraints. To address these challenges faced by SMEs, homegrown IT solutions provider – Wilstech Sdn. Bhd. officially launched eMOBIQ® and the eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023 to enable Malaysians to adopt innovative and effective digital solutions at a fraction of the cost as compared to conventional methods, while at the same time, being easy enough for just about anyone (with or without prior experience in coding) to build their own mobile applications.
YB Datuk Ewon Benedick, Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (MECD), said, “There are many factors that can benefit a business from digital transformation. E-commerce and the digital economy introduce new opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into a larger market and perhaps even global trade. Malaysia is on the right track to fulfilling its digital economy agenda, and the ministry welcomes initiatives such as these that aid in the growth of Malaysia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and transformation goals. With continuous improvements in machine learning and AI integration, it is now the right time to advance through innovative efforts such as eMOBIQ®.”
The RMAD platform was built to provide users with a full visual experience as they can customize applications with a simple ‘drag-and-drop’, using a myriad of prebuilt templates, components, functions, and connectors that are readily available. Apart from that, eMOBIQ® offers users the freedom to develop their applications on the go as users are able to access their designs anywhere and anytime on its cloud-based platform. Once the designs are completed, a single click will allow users to deploy their online or offline mobile applications across Android or iOS simultaneously.
To put it into practice, 127 teams from 24 local universities were put to the test at the eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023 to develop the most practical, innovative, and impactful mobile application as they compete for the RM300k prize pool. The contestants were given two months to complete their designs which were then scored by the panel of in-house judges (70 percent weightage) based on creativity, practicality, impact on business, and presentation; as well as by popularity vote count on social media (30 percent weightage).
The top 10 teams were invited to the main event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, in the presence of YB Datuk Ewon Benedick to determine the winners of the competition who walked away with cash prizes, internship & future employment opportunities, and most importantly, having their application deployed in the real world for public use. In doing so, the participants are able to obtain extensive knowledge and experience in producing, developing, and maintaining a successful mobile application that can be brought forward in their professional careers.
YB Datuk Ewon Benedick, then added, “I applaud all the participants for putting their best efforts into designing a functional and practical mobile application that is able to bring some relief or assistance to communities. I am impressed by the work of these young adults, and I hope that the eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023 will inspire more students to explore the digital industry and mobile application development, in particular, so that we may prosper as a leading entrepreneurial nation with a strong workforce of knowledgeable tech-savvy individuals that are able to stand out on a global scale. Team Universiti Putra Malaysia did an outstanding job in this competition, and I am excited to see the growth of these talented individuals. ”
The top 10 teams are as follows:
1 Universiti Putra Malaysia (Institution) Universiti Putra Malaysia (Team Name) Fincare (App Name)
2 UOW Malaysia (Institution) Apex (Team Name) Smart Parking (App Name)
3 Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Institution) Crazy Assignment Enjoyer (Team Name) Crazy Learner (App Name)
Top 10 Xiamen University Malaysia (Institution) LLLL (Team Name) Take’N Go (App Name)
Top 10 Universiti Malaya (Institution) InnovateX (Team Name) SME 3 In 1 Helper (App Name)
Top 10 Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Institution) No Eye Deer (Team Name) Condominium Management System Mobile Apps (App Name)
Top 10 Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (Institution) DinoTech (Team Name) School Application (App Name)
Top 10 Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (Institution) Dreams 37 (Team Name) DreamTal (App Name)
Top 10 Sunway University Team (Institution) ThinkFort (Team Name) Stock House (App Name)
Top 10 Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (Institution) TARUMT CPUS (Team Name) Store It (App Name)
Winning Prize Breakdown is as follows:
RANKING & CASH PRIZE
Grand Prize RM10,000
Top 10 Teams RM2,500
All Participating Teams that Successfully Submitted the Full Solutions RM500
Despite the tremendous effort and skill portrayed by the top 10 teams selected, judges claimed that one stood out above the rest. Team Universiti Putra Malaysia, with their mobile application “FinCare” (short for Financial Care), was chosen as the grand champion for tackling the issues of financial literacy and management for children. The idea to develop this mobile application came from a case study that was conducted by the team, revealing that one in three Malaysians lack financial knowledge while more than 50 percent of Malaysians utilize e-wallets on a daily basis.
Using e-wallets as a payment medium, FinCare enables parents to track their children’s expenses, monitor transactions in real time, set spending limits, and assign challenges to save money. Apart from this, the winning mobile application is focused on financial education through interactive and edutaining features that motivate children to manage their finances responsibly. Now that they have won the eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023, Team Universiti Putra Malaysia will be working alongside the RMAD platform to perfect the product by adding gamification elements and financial education content to further engage with users, all the while making the platform more interactive for the public.
Tan Ze Han Dylan, captain of Team Universiti Putra Malaysia, commented saying, “The eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023 posed many difficulties to us because we had to execute the project while our final exams and final year projects are ongoing. Thankfully, we are able to execute developing the FinCare mobile application in less than two months because of the eMOBIQ® platform, which would have otherwise taken us about four to six months to build it from scratch. I take this opportunity to thank my team of multi-ethnic individuals that gave it their all to go far beyond winning this competition, and making a positive impact in Malaysia through FinCare.”
Wilson Low, Founder and Director of Wilstech Sdn. Bhd. said, “At Wilstech Sdn. Bhd., it is our mandate to use our vast experiences and knowledge to offer solutions for Malaysia to adapt to the digital era in the most seamless way possible. We intend to be a trendsetter and establish ourselves as exemplary role models for local organizations to collectively employ initiatives like this, so that we may grow together and bring pride to our country. I am pleased to have done my part in serving the community through the eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023, and we look forward to hosting more exciting programs to advance Malaysia’s workforce and businesses.”
Participating colleges and universities include – Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), First City University College, Kolej Vokasional Shah Alam, LimKokWing University, Manipal International University, Management and Science University (MSU), Peninsula College, Quest International University (QIU), Raffles University, Sunway University, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), University of Technology Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), University Malaysia of Computer Science & Engineering (UNIMY), UOW Malaysia, and Xiamen University Malaysia.
The eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023 was made a success with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Technological Association Malaysia, Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA), ASEAN Retail-Chains & Franchise Federation (ARFF), Malaysia Digital Chamber of Commerce (MDCC), National Tech Association of Malaysia (PIKOM), and the SME Association of Malaysia. Being the first and largest no-coding app development competition, the eMOBIQ® Challenge 2023 was awarded three record titles by the Malaysian Book of Records – Most Participating Teams In a No-Code App Building Competition, Most Higher Learning Institutions Participating In a No-Code App Building Competition, and Highest Prize Money In a No-Code App Building Competition.
For more information, kindly visit https://emobiq.io/emobiq-challenge-2023/, https://orangekloud.com/emobiq/, and https://wilstech.com/.
