Key platform understanding

#1: Introducing Mereka Connect

By
Rashvin Pal Singh
March 21, 2023
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3 min read
Join the journey: Mereka.my

Who we are

Established in 2017, Mereka’s vision is to be the leading talent development academy and platform in Asia that grooms successful individuals, entrepreneurs and companies of the future. As we tell our students and partners, “you stand on the shoulders of giants” - we provide access to an exclusive expert network,  hub ecosystem, and innovative training programs to unlock your potential that will shape the future. We are setup as 3 core teams:

  • Mereka Space - the creative hub in Kuala Lumpur
  • Mereka Academy - the talent development academy
  • Mereka Connect - our digital platform to connect creative hubs across the region

We started off with Mereka Space in Publika. The makerspace was set up to have different labs (Design, Multimedia, Fashion, Fabrication, Cafe, etc), workshops on design thinking, creative workshops, prototyping and labs rental. Through these different programs, we got quite the engagement running within the community we had built. Embedded within the space, was a bigger idea to offer a safe space for creative minds within local communities to share their ideas and connect with one another.

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Key Challenges Faced

However, establishing Mereka Space as a creative hub brought in a few challenges. We had come to realise that we had underutilised resources, limited opportunities to grow our audience to a larger scale and to collaborate with other creative hubs. When individuals came to learn about our workshops and programs, we were met with a lot of similar reactions.

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“Oh no! I found out about the program after it was run! I missed it by a few days!”

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“I wish I knew you existed earlier! I’ve been looking for a space like this to meet fellow creatives and build my product!”

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We noticed individuals had an initial shock reaction to the abundance of resources available for them to utilise and bring their ideas to life, but the awareness surrounding our hub was not reaching its intended audience. To further validate these common challenges we faced, we contacted around 15 creative hubs and shared our challenges. Our conclusion was that these challenges were consistent across the different hubs we spoke too. It was a barrier for us hubs to achieve our growth plans and hindered us from truly engaging with our communities.

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Mission to resolve - Mereka Connect  

In 2020, we embarked on a mission to resolve these challenges by innovating a digital platform; Mereka Connect. The platform empowers creative hubs by listing their services and managing them on the platform. It serves to unlock underutilised resources and connect them to creatives and entrepreneurs who would then be able to employ these to solve their problems. It provides an overview for creative communities to come together and understand the creative industry by discovering different hubs across the region, and exploring ways to collaborate. Mereka Connect is an ecosystem that provides hubs with integrated services such as booking management, community management and financial management. Since its Beta launch in July 2021, Mereka Connect community has built a network of over 100+ active hubs, 2,000+ learners and growing!

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How Mereka Connect Works

Mereka Connect will feature a booking management system, Hub profile, and resources. The Booking Management System is designed for Hubs to list their creative workshops, experiences, events and spaces, to be booked by members of the public and fellow creatives.

The Resources Section will give Hub managers access to a vast pond of resources, digital toolkits, and articles to support their growth. Examples of the resources we are compiling include Hub development toolkits, financial templates, digital content creation guides and funding opportunities across the region. Hubs are able to share different resources they find beneficial, and get it uploaded on Mereka Connect, creating a community-driven knowledge repository.

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British Council Partnership and Next Steps

Whilst digital platforms may have the potential to create meaningful impact on society - from unlocking underutilised resources to connecting different players together, it is crucial for the platform to be created collaboratively with its core members and partners at the heart of it.

Hence, in making this a reality, the British Council of Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are collaborating to reach various different hubs across the region to grow the hub network together. Through this partnership, the British Council aims for hubs across the region to connect, learn from each other, and create new collaborative opportunities between ASEAN & UK. As a network, hubs are also better equipped to build new advocacy pathways that will support the growth of the creative economy, and deepen our community impact.

To make this effort a reality, we welcome creative hubs across the region to embark on this journey together, starting with the launch of the Mereka Connect platform and its partnership with the British Council on the 29th of July 2022. Sign up here to join the movement: CHCGrandLaunch

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