Empowering Entrepreneurs From Within

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About PING
PING Programme
Ventures

From Corporate Employees to Founders

PETRONAS Innovation Garage (PING) is PETRONAS’ commitment to support its entrepreneurial employees by providing a safe space for them to build their ideas into innovative solutions and investible ventures.

As the corporate incubator for employee-driven ventures, PING empowers and nurtures these entrepreneurs through coaching, mentoring, access to network and resources, supported by entrepreneur-friendly policies that would allow them to dedicate themselves to their projects, as founders of their startups, building solutions that have the potential to solve important problems, shape industries and touch lives.

What’s Unique About PING?

Mentorship & Coaching

Funding & Investment

Ecosystem Support

Advisory

Testing & Prototyping

Networking Opportunities

Why PING?

Entrepreneur
Friendly Policies

Creating ‘skin-in-the-game’ in entrepreneurs through enabling policies

Support for
Startup Growth

Facilitating the startups to run at pace with PING as an independent entity

Leveraging The Mothership Advantage

Providing entrepreneurship upskilling, mentorship from industry experts, and networking opportunities

How We Have Done so Far

46

Entrepreneurs developed

120

Video pitches submitted

20

Projects incubated

4

Projects transferred internally

5

Startups launched

1.6 M

Funding & Investment secured

YM Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Kamadjaja Aziz

President & Group Chief Executive Officer
Executive Director
PETRONAS

PETRONAS Innovation Garage, or PING, is the company’s commitment to support our own budding entrepreneurs.

With PING, we hope to unlock a new stream of innovations, capitalizing on the strength and entrepreneurial drive of our own people.

What Our Ventures Say About Us

Entrepreneurship at Our Core

PING23 Sdn Bhd or better known as PETRONAS Innovation Garage (PING) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PETRONAS Leadership Centre, dedicated to employee-driven innovation and entrepreneurship. PING integrates critical components to create an entrepreneurship pathway in PETRONAS. We offer training, coaching, funding, access to testing facilities, supported by entrepreneur-friendly policies that would enable selected employees to dedicate themselves to their ventures as founders of their startups, creating value for the organisation and beyond.

Our People

The PING Core Team is the force behind the Venture Teams, supporting them behind the scenes, operating with a startup mindset. We’re committed to empowering your venture, so they can focus on what matters most: building their business.

PING Board Members

Ruslan Islahudin

Chairman, PING23 Sdn. Bhd.

Vice President & Group Chief HR Officer
PETRONAS

Fariz Ali

Board Member, PING23 Sdn. Bhd.

Chief Executive Officer
Twin Towers Ventures

Suzleena Samsudin

Board Member, PING23 Sdn. Bhd.

General Legal Council
Group Legal
PETRONAS

PING Team Members

Zafirah Bahiyyah M Zulkifli

Chief Executive Officer

M Khalil Izwan A Jalil

Chief Finance Officer

Fahmi Azril Abu Said

Head, Ecosystem & Partnership

Nurul Sha’adah Abdul Kalam

Head, Programme Delivery

Nabil Fikri Ahmad

Head, Corporate Services & Governance

Nurul Azura Abd Razak

Head, Human Resource Management

Syarifah Norrasyidah Syed Mohri

Head, Marketing & Communication

Our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

Our Ventures are guided by PING Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiRs) who are qualified external experts with strong track records as startup founders and business angels. At PING, they coach, guide, and support the Venture Teams along their entrepreneurial journey.

Peter Wee

President, Malaysia Business Angel Network (MBAN | Partner & Mentor, NEXEA

Peter, a seasoned start-up coach with a proven track record in coaching CEOs of successful start-ups, is your go-to mentor. With over 28 years of experience in consulting, organizational management, and merger and acquisition (M&A), he has a deep understanding of the corporate and startup world. As a member of prestigious organizations like the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and CPA Australia, he brings a high level of professional expertise to the table. Peter’s passion for entrepreneurship is evident in his role as a mentor at NEXEA, an early Startup Accelerator, and his role as President at Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN), the official trade association and governing body for angel investors and angel clubs in Malaysia. He currently teaches Entrepreneurship at the Asia School of Business. With his extensive network and expertise in innovation, Peter is ideally suited to guide startups on their growth journey. He can help you develop your business model, scale your operations, and hone your leadership skills.

Andrew Gnananantham

Director, AG Advisory + Investments

Andrew Gnananantham is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor with a proven track record of democratizing access to resources for early-stage founders. He possesses deep expertise in scaling high-growth fintech and e-commerce businesses globally, including his tenure as Executive Vice President for Lazada Group. Andrew has extensive experience as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EiR), including for 500 Global, an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator. He has been deeply involved in mentoring founders to navigate product-market fit, go-to-market strategies, and the intricacies of hiring, managing, and fundraising for growth. Additionally, he has advised on commercial and startup financing for Uncapped, a UK-based funding and capital solution for startups. Andrew has a proven ability to navigate complex ecosystems and build strategic partnerships with venture capitalists, enterprises, and non-profits. His knowledge in the startup and entrepreneurial landscape, coupled with his strong background in financial engineering, machine learning, and mergers & acquisitions, is reflected in his commitment to empower entrepreneurs and drive positive impact, including during his tenure with Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Andrew is also highly recommended by PETRONAS Ventures based on his involvement as an EIR for its PETRONAS FutureTech cohort 1 & 2 programs.

We Incubate Ventures

PING supports entrepreneurial employees who want to make a difference by taking them to the next level. This is the place where you can build your venture from within.

The PING Journey

PING supports entrepreneurial employees who want to make a difference by taking them to the next level. This is the place where employees can build their ventures from within.

the ping journey

At PING, we provide a clear path for employees to turn their innovative ideas into thriving businesses. Our three-stage process, PITCH, ACCELERATE, and LAUNCH, is designed to support them every step of the way.

PITCH: Employees submit and pitch their ideas to a panel of experts. If their pitch is successful, they’ll be invited to join the ACCELERATE phase as a Venture.

ACCELERATE: During ACCELERATE, Ventures get to be fully assigned to PING for 4 months to focus on validating and building their ventures. PING supports by providing upskilling, coaching, funding, networking, and resources to help them build and scale their ventures. At the end of ACCELERATE, Ventures pitch at Demo Day for an opportunity to get into the LAUNCH phase.

LAUNCH: Successful Ventures will be offered to spin-in, where the solution is further build in Businesses or spin-off into start-ups. If they spin-off, they will have to leave PETRONAS officially and fully commit to building their Ventures as Founders. PING continues to provide essential support, including prototyping and testing facilities, coaching, investor introductions, legal support for IP protection and incorporation, hiring needs for team expansion and more. We’ll also help Ventures develop a compelling pitch deck, create a growth plan and financial model, and secure their first customer(s).

Our commitment to employee-entrepreneurs goes beyond just the program. We’ve implemented entrepreneur-friendly HR policies that empower Ventures to focus on their solutions and be rewarded for their milestones.