At the 2nd Annual Advanced Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Asia Week 2025, industry and investment leaders converged for the panel “Unite to Innovate: Building Collaborative Ecosystems for Investable Growth in Advanced Innovation,” moderated by Victor Fasahati, Founder and Managing Partner, Mayflower & Partners, and Board Member, SingCham. The discussion explored how cross-industry collaboration, strategic investment, and sustainability can accelerate ASEAN’s innovation ecosystem toward global competitiveness.
The panel featured:
- Chong Seng Lim, Director, Ecosystem Development, Digital Penang
- Dr. James Ong, Founder & Managing Director, Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII)
- Syed Mubarak, Managing Director, HyCee, and Vice Chairman, SMART Cities Network
- Kean Yaw See Toh, Founding Partner, Kairous Capital.
1. Building Collaborative Ecosystems for Innovation and Investment
Opening the discussion, Chong Seng Lim highlighted that “building accelerated ecosystems requires collective efforts in creating opportunities and attracting funding.”
He emphasized the importance of creating opportunities across startup stages, from idea to scale-up, while involving diverse stakeholders such as venture capitalists, angel investors, and corporates.
2. Driving Sustainable and Inclusive Growth
Syed Mubarak framed sustainability as a critical dimension of innovation ecosystems, introducing his “three Ds”, Decarbonisation, Digitalisation, and Democratisation, as the guiding principles for ASEAN’s industrial transformation. “We can’t solve today’s problems with yesterday’s thinking,” he remarked. “To align with global sustainability goals, we must adopt risk adaptation and build horizontal ecosystems that integrate corporates, SMEs, and governments.”
Adding to this, See Toh acknowledged that sustainability ventures often face high upfront costs but stressed that the right strategy and governance can yield strong long-term returns. “There’s always a trade-off between sustainability and profitability, but good companies must achieve both,” he explained.
3. Aligning Innovation with Human-Centric AI and Regional Collaboration
Dr. James Ong, drawing on four decades in AI and technology ecosystems, emphasized that “the best way to build an ecosystem is to have a common purpose that serves the community.” He advocated for AI for Humanity, noting that ecosystems built solely for profit rarely endure.
In response, Victor Fasahati reinforced the urgency of action: “Penang has the potential to be the Silicon Valley of the East, but that will only happen if local leaders, investors, and innovators act decisively.”
From Vision to Action: Turning Collaboration into Competitive Advantage
The panel concluded with a unified message: collaboration, purpose, and sustainability must converge to create real impact. Innovation cannot thrive in silos, and economic resilience requires shared responsibility across governments, investors, and industries.
The dialogue underscored that the path to investable growth in advanced innovation will be defined not just by technology, but by the strength of ecosystems built on shared values, sustainable vision, and collective action.
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Save the date:
📅 3rd Annual AIM Asia Week 2026
September 2026 | Penang, Malaysia
🌏 Stay tuned for more information