Read Full BioNeil is a seasoned startup operator turned entrepreneurial ecosystem builder, with nearly a decade of experience advancing technology, digital business, and entrepreneurship across Asia. As Chief Programme Officer at GUIDE, he transforms the firm’s advisory insights into practical venture-education curricula and learning materials designed for entrepreneurs and emerging-market talent. Neil also leads the design and implementation of development programmes and regional initiatives across GUIDE’s network and platforms throughout Asia, fostering innovation and capacity-building in fast-growing ecosystems.
A former entrepreneur and turnaround COO, Neil is actively engaged as an operating advisor and partner to entrepreneurs within the startup ecosystem and the innovation capacity-building space. His work at GUIDE is trusted and recognised by notable intergovernmental organisations, prestigious educational institutions, public-private agencies, and leading Asian venture capital firms — including the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC, a subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank), Asia School of Business (ASB, a collaboration between Malaysia’s Central Bank and MIT Sloan School of Management), the Tianjin City Incubator Association, and Gobi Partners, among others.
He has served as a mentor to the Khazanah Innovation Impact Challenge and as a judge for the Future 100 initiative by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the Minister of State for Government Development. He has held the position as the Head of Secretariat of Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM). He is the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Centre coach of ASB. Neil holds a Master of Science degree from Tongji University, Shanghai.
Alvin led the finance and strategy function as a Chief Finance Officer from Seed all the way to exit in his previous tenure in GoQuo - B2B travel-tech venture-backed startup GoQuo (backed by Gobi Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures), overseeing its growth as a company alongside the founder from 2 to 25 airlines, from 20 to 180 people, 5x its revenues between 2015 and 2019, raising multiple rounds of funding from venture capital and strategic investors, and navigating through the pandemic until the company's successful sale in 2022.
Since existing GoQuo, Alvin co-founded SEA-based venture studio Ignition Chamber Academy and the Chief of Staff School with Neil in nurturing new startups. He is an active angel investor, investing in and also serving as director and advisor of several companies in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and the UK. He is also a Venture Partner of a Hong Kong-based venture debt fund.
Alvin spent his early working career with KPMG and PwC in Assurance services involving in various business industries such as hospitality and casino gaming, manufacturing, FMCG and oil and gas clients. Experienced in the consumer travel space, Alvin spent 4 years with Tune Hotels heading the finance operations before joining GoQuo.
Sachiko serves as the Programme and Community Manager at GUIDE, where she supports GUIDE’s entrepreneurial programmes as well as initiatives that strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems and foster collaboration across the ASEAN region. In this role, she designs and manages strategic programmes, engages with diverse stakeholders, and builds platforms that enable founders, investors, and ecosystem partners to connect and grow together.
Her professional journey reflects a strong commitment to innovation and community-building. Prior to GUIDE, Sachiko worked with the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT), where she contributed to policy-driven projects and leadership programmes focused on sustainable development in Asia. She also gained hands-on experience in the startup space through her involvement with two health-tech ventures, equipping her with valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by early-stage companies.
With a background bridging both corporate and entrepreneurial spheres, Sachiko brings a unique perspective to advancing GUIDE’s mission of empowering regional ventures and communities.
Erra Fazira Kamaruddin is a seasoned communications strategist who has transitioned into building marketing and brand ecosystems for ventures, corporates, and cultural initiatives across Asia. She began her career in digital branding and development agencies, consulting for regional clients and managing multi-platform campaigns. With over a decade of experience, she has worked with organisations in Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia across sectors including automotive, healthcare, lifestyle and education, with clients such as Volkswagen, Gamuda, Nitto Denko, Kinokuniya, HiLogic and more. Previously, she also founded an artist agency, creating opportunities for artists to collaborate with brands through curated campaigns and partnerships.
As the Strategic Marketing & Communications Lead at GUIDE, Erra designs and executes integrated campaigns that strengthen brand positioning, expand regional visibility, and drive engagement across accelerators and venture programmes. She specialises in shaping clear brand narratives and multi-channel campaigns that align with long-term growth objectives. Her work reflects a commitment to building communication strategies that are purposeful, scalable, and resonant with diverse audiences across both business and creative landscapes.
Cohort size is limited to 5-12 companies to preserve depth of engagement.
Min. 5 companies to kickstart. One application per startup.
This section outlines our eligibility criteria, requirements, and important timeline related to the programme.
contactSEA+ Accelerator is a regional early-growth programme designed for Seed to Series A technology companies with cross-border ambitions in Southeast Asia. It is a consortium-based, practitioner-led accelerator focused on revenue clarity, capital efficiency, and disciplined regional expansion — not demo-day exposure.
The programme combines a 3-day in-person Revenue & Regional Expansion Bootcamp, 1-month hybrid group and 1:1 coaching and mentoring, corporate and financing solution matchmaking, product deployment support, and a Graduation & Community Mixer.
The programme is designed for early-growth companies that meet the following criteria:
Both SEA-domiciled and international companies are welcome to apply. SEA-based companies are given priority, but the programme is open to applicants from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and beyond.
On eligibility exceptions:
The criteria above reflect the profile of companies the programme is designed to serve. Where an applicant falls short on one or more financial thresholds but demonstrates strong growth trajectory and is supported by compelling independent recommendations, the admissions committee will consider the application on its overall merit.
The “+” reflects the programme’s openness beyond Southeast Asia. While SEA-based companies are prioritised, international technology enterprises seeking structured soft-landing into Southeast Asia are encouraged to apply. The programme supports opportunity sizing, purchase intent validation, and expansion feasibility assessment before significant capital deployment.
SEA+ Accelerator is built on the principle that access to world-class venture education and support should not be limited by geography, background, or founder profile. All applicants are evaluated strictly on merit, scalability, and regional market potential.
Within that framework, the programme actively encourages applications from underrepresented founder groups, including female-led ventures and companies from markets that are typically underserved by regional accelerators. Our goal is to build a cohort that reflects the true breadth and diversity of Southeast Asia's innovation ecosystem, not just its most visible hubs.
For both 2026 cohorts, SEA+ Accelerator focuses on three primary markets: Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. This reflects a deliberate balance between our investment partners' thesis coverage and GUIDE's on-ground operational capabilities in these markets.
Applicants are welcome to indicate interest in one, two, or all three markets. Those with broader regional ambitions beyond this belt are still encouraged to apply; however, our structured cross-border support and market navigation resources will be concentrated on these three markets for the 2026 programme cycle.
Enrolment priority will be given to applicants whose market entry objectives best align with this focus.
Participating companies will work toward:
The selection process is multi-stage and merit-based:
Cohort size is limited to 5–12 companies to preserve depth of engagement.
SEA+ is the only accelerator in the region that combines revenue-stage entry criteria, cross-border market access for non-SEA companies, and a VC observation model that rewards execution over pitching.
Most programmes in the market offer one of three things: a room full of contacts, a tour of a new market, or a day of frameworks. SEA+ is structurally different from all three.
Networking events end when the room clears. SEA+ does not. The relationships built here are structured, curated, and followed through with active business development support across three months of post-bootcamp engagement. You are not collecting name cards; you are building a qualified pipeline with people who have already been briefed on your company.
Business exposure trips are study tours. There are no delegations that disperse the moment the itinerary ends. Every market access touchpoint in the SEA+ programme is tied to a specific commercial objective for your company, supported by GUIDE's on-ground operational resources in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore.
One-off workshops deliver insight and leave you to figure out the rest alone. The three-day bootcamp is the beginning of a structured journey, not the conclusion of one. What follows is a month of coached execution, a month of product deployment, and a graduation that doubles as the launch of your next chapter in SEA, with a network that stays activated long after the programme ends.
Events give you exposure. Trips give you context. Workshops give you frameworks. SEA+ gives you outcomes.
SEA+ Accelerator is backed by five active thesis-based regional VC partners with a combined US$3.3B+ in AUM, 600+ portfolio companies across Southeast Asia, and direct access to capital from seed through Series B.
Our investment partners: Gobi Partners, Monk's Hill Ventures, East Ventures, TNB Aura, and Tin Men Capital.
They have collectively funded 8 unicorns and backed companies operating in every major SEA market. These VC partners are highly curated to match with GUIDE's thesis focus, scale-up development and growth support journey to expand into other markets across Southeast Asia with major sector depths across the B2B tech, consumer, fintech, logistics, agritech, and enterprise Software-as-a-Service space. Limited Partners of these investors span globally and represent key institutions, from sovereign funds for nation-building purposes to private-sector capital and family offices.
The Enrolment and Selection process and the Investment process are two independent and separately governed tracks. GUIDE leads the former; investment decisions rest solely with senior representatives of each respective VC partner.
While the programme's components and methodology have been pre-aligned with and endorsed by our Investor Partners, this does not constitute a commitment to invest. GUIDE, its affiliated partners, and Sponsors play no role in any Investment Committee process and offer no guarantee of investment outcomes.
GUIDE's role throughout the programme is to provide active growth development support — through structured coaching, business development assistance, and our bench of Mentors and Operating Advisors — in service of each scaleup's commercial and operational progress.
The programme fee for 2026 is USD 7,560 per scaleup, covering up to two participants per company. This includes the full three-month programme experience: the three-day in-person bootcamp, one month of hybrid coaching and business development support, one month of product deployment mentoring, and the three-day graduation. Travel and accommodation are at the participant's own expense.
The fee covers:
It does not cover travel and accommodation costs, which remain the responsibility of each participating scaleup.
Our experience has shown that meaningful learning and execution work best when participants make a conscious financial commitment to the process. While scholarships are structured to reduce the burden on founders, a minimum co-payment is maintained to reflect the seriousness and value of the journey.
The minimum co-payment is USD 1,980 per scaleup, regardless of the scholarship track or total sponsorship raised.
The fee is paid across four instalments timed to key programme milestones, following a pay-as-you-gain principle. Each payment falls after a stage where tangible value has already been delivered. The instalment schedule depends on your applicable scholarship track.
Self-funded or Revenue Success-based Scholarship (Maximum Scholarship of US$5,580)
VC-created SEA Venture Growth Scholarship (Maximum Scholarship of US$5,580)
Your applicable instalment schedule will be confirmed in your admission letter.
SEA+ Accelerator offers two scholarship tracks for the 2026 programme cycle:
Cradle Revenue Success Scholarship is available to Malaysia-incorporated companies and is administered in partnership with Cradle Fund. Scholarship support of up to USD 5,580 is available per scaleup, subject to eligibility verification and contingent on a verified SEA commercial transaction completed by 15 December 2026.
Gobi Partners SEA Venture Growth Scholarship is available to scaleups assessed and selected by Gobi Partners as part of their deal flow scouting process. The scholarship amount and applicable instalment schedule will be confirmed upon admission.
Tin Men Capital SEA Venture Growth Scholarship is available to scaleups assessed and selected by Tin Men Capital as part of their deal flow scouting process. The scholarship amount and applicable instalment schedule will be confirmed upon admission.
Additional scholarship tracks may be introduced on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to indicate their preferred track at the point of application and the programme team will inform if there's any latest update before admission.
No. Scholarship track selection at the application stage is an expression of interest only. All scholarship decisions are made independently of the enrolment and selection process and are subject to the eligibility criteria of the respective scholarship partner. GUIDE does not guarantee scholarship approval and does not participate in scholarship decisions made by VC or institutional partners.
No. Each scaleup may only be considered under one scholarship track. Double-sponsoring is not permitted under the programme's scholarship framework. If you are unsure which track best applies to your company, indicate this in your application and the GUIDE admissions team will advise accordingly.
The commitment deposit of USD 990 is due only upon acceptance of your admission offer, not at the point of application. If you choose to withdraw after paying the deposit, please refer to the terms and conditions in your admission letter for the applicable refund policy. No deposit is collected during the application or screening process.
The SEA+ Accelerator programme is conducted entirely in English, including all workshops, discussions, and programme materials. Participants should be comfortable communicating and engaging in English to fully benefit from the sessions and peer exchanges.
All official communications related to your application, shortlisting, and participation in the programme will be conducted exclusively through our official email: program@guide.works. Please reach out to us if you have any questions.
Please ensure you check this email address regularly for updates, requests for additional information, and important notifications. We strongly advise applicants to whitelist this address or check your spam/junk folders to avoid missing any critical communications. Any communication from other channels or unofficial emails should be disregarded unless otherwise stated on our official website or by a verified team member.
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