KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23): Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB) has selected five start-up companies for its inaugural HLB LaunchPad mentorship programme.

"The programme specifically focuses on three areas to transform the way we bank tomorrow: Simplifying Banking Today, Digitising Customer Journeys & Experience; and Re-Imagining Banking For Tomorrow," HLB said in a statement.

The public-private partnership programme between HLB, Cradle and Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN) was launched earlier this year.

Throughout the three-month programme, the five start-ups will be mentored by HLB's senior management. This allows them first-hand exposure to the knowledge, experience, and expertise of key people driving product, business, and infrastructure development.

"Financial services trends support the notion that working with start-ups is the way forward," said HLB managing director and CEO Domenic Fuda. "Partnerships such as this offer various opportunities. It elevates the brand, helps productivity and drives differentiated offerings. These in turn aid customer retention and uncover exciting prospects for new revenue streams."

HLB said the start-ups will also receive training by design thinking experts and have the opportunity to validate their products in the market. An allowance of up to RM25,000 per start-up would also be provided to them to further enhance their product or service offerings.

The programme will conclude with a demo day in early December, where one of the five start-ups may be considered for an equity investment of up to RM1 million by Cradle, it added.