Digital Winners Asia to help promising Asian startups expand into new markets

Telenor Group, on November 1-2, will launch Digital Winners Asia, its first-ever regional startup event, which blends the creativity, energy and expertise of nine of the region's up-and-coming startups in a two-day platform designed to enable participants to achieve scale across markets. The event sources some of the top start-up talent from Telenor Group businesses' leading accelerator programs across Asia, including in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. The event will take place in Yangon, Myanmar, a city seen as an emerging player in Asia's technology scene.

Starter skills and starter funds to scale across borders With a theme focused on breaking down borders to access new markets, Digital Winners Asia will bring nine startups and top-tier speakers together over the course of two days in Yangon to build and exercise the right skills, knowledge and tools to tackle digital business opportunities across markets. The format of the event will consist of a mix of keynote discussions from across the start-up and venture capital communities and focused case preparation sessions, in which startup teams will prepare to pitch for 100,000 Norwegian Kroner in initial expansion funds on the closing day of the event.

Keynote speeches and market insight sessions will be given by leaders in market expansion and entrepreneurship in the region, such as Google, Golden Gate Ventures and Telenor Group's Head of Product and Innovation, Gunnar Sellaeg.

Establishing Digital Winners in Asia is a natural move for Telenor since we experiences strong growth in the region, and we believe there is a great innovative and entrepreneurial spirit growing here, said Gunnar Sellaeg. The startups participating in this inaugural event represent the best of the best from our market-led accelerator programs and we are excited to build this platform for the next stage of their growth.

Handpicked startups The nine teams attending Digital Winners Asia consist of current and past participants of Telenor's five startup incubation and acceleration programs across the region. Each company has been selected based on the company's life-cycle and potential to break into to new markets, as well as grow alongside Telenor.

Two representatives from each company will participate in Digital Winners Asia.

This inaugural year's participants represent a diversity of industries: marketing services, energy, artificial intelligence, tourism and education:

A frontier market for pioneering startups A newcomer to the global technology community, Myanmar, with its unprecedented rates of technological evolution, provides the perfect backdrop to Digital Winners Asia. Insight from regional as well as local experts supplemented with Telenor's own operational experience as one of the first private telecommunications companies to enter the Myanmar market, further underscore the purpose of Digital Winners Asia in helping upstart tech companies expand into new frontiers.

Digital Winners Asia 2016 will kick off November 1-2 in Yangon, Myanmar. For more information on the global program, visit: planet.telenor.com.

The Digital Winners platform began as the Nordic region's premier gathering of leaders and innovators in media, technology and communications. It attracts global thought leaders and top entrepreneurs. Per Telenor's expanding customer base in Asia and increased operations across the Region, Digital Winners Asia leverages the expertise and prestige of the Digital Winners, tailoring the platform to the unique opportunities and challenges of the growing region.

Media Contacts Marcus Adaktusson, VP, Head of Communications, Telenor Group Region Asia

Tel: +65 9879 5730 E-mail: marcus.adaktusson@telenor.com

LINK:	http://www.telenor.com/media/press-releases/2016/digital-winners-asia-...
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