johardy08/09/2026 - 16:50 By JOHARDY IBRAHIM editor@dagangnews.com KUALA LUMPUR Sept 8 - GrowthPro.asia and Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd (Cradle) have collaborated to introduce the Ascent corporate AI certification programme, aimed at helping Malaysian businesses translate artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into measurable financial and operational returns.
The initiative builds on GrowthPro.asia's approach of applying AI to specific business problems rather than focusing solely on technology or AI tools.
GrowthPro.asia said an earlier applied data and AI capability programme at a high-tech manufacturing plant in Malaysia resulted in a reported US$2 million in projected annual cost savings and cost avoidance.
The engagement progressed from workforce capability development into AI pilots addressing Industry 4.0 operational challenges, including computer vision, defect classification and production optimisation.
Solutions developed from the programme were subsequently intended for deployment at other plants within the region.
AI training tied to business performance
GrowthPro.asia co-founder Peter Kua said businesses need to shift the AI conversation away from tools towards business outcomes.
“The conversation around AI has become heavily focused on tools. But a tool alone does not create business value.
“We have to start with the business problem and connect strategy, people, domain knowledge and data to the outcomes that matter, whether that is increasing revenue, reducing costs or improving efficiency,” he said in a statement.
GrowthPro.asia's methodology focuses on three business outcomes — increasing revenue, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Instead of introducing technology first, the company identifies a business challenge, examines the organisation's data and domain knowledge, determines the appropriate intervention and measures its performance against the intended commercial outcome.
GrowthPro.asia cited research by AWS and Access Partnership showing that 89% of Malaysian employers prioritise hiring AI-skilled talent, while 81% struggle to find the talent they need and 88% do not know how to run an AI training programme.
It also cited TalentCorp's 2024 estimate that about 620,000 Malaysian jobs, or roughly 18% of the workforce, could be significantly affected by AI within three to five years.
From training to actual AI projects
GrowthPro.asia co-founder Alvin Koay said its generative AI curricula are developed according to Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) and SkillsFuture Singapore standards, while the company also trains trainers who deliver the programmes.
“What differentiates our approach is what happens next, taking that structured capability development into the enterprise, applying it to real business problems and ensuring solutions are tangible and sustainable,” he said.
A central component is GrowthPro.asia's Capstone Method, under which participants identify and scope a high-impact business problem, prepare relevant data, design and test a functional prototype and present its potential impact, risks and implementation roadmap.
Kua said this approach was intended to close the gap between acquiring AI knowledge and applying it within an organisation.
Koay said the process could enable corporate AI training to produce actual use cases, prototypes and pilots with the potential to generate measurable business value rather than ending with certification alone.
Linking corporate needs with technology startups
The collaboration also seeks to create a bridge between corporate problem statements and Malaysia's technology startup ecosystem.
Cradle group chief executive officer Norman Matthieu Vanhaecke said organisations and startup founders should look beyond AI as a collection of tools and focus on how data and intelligence can address meaningful business problems.
“For the startup ecosystem, the bigger picture matters. We want founders and organisations to look beyond AI as a collection of tools and understand how data and intelligence can solve meaningful problems and ultimately contribute to the bottom line,” he said.
Vanhaecke said Ascent was designed to build AI capability throughout organisations, covering leadership as well as teams responsible for applying the technology.
Three AI capability tracks
Ascent: The Corporate AI Certification is a co-branded certification pathway delivered by GrowthPro.asia in collaboration with Cradle.
It draws on GrowthPro.asia's portfolio of more than 45 AI and data programmes spanning beginner to advanced levels.
The programmes are organised into three capability tracks: Leadership & Executive AI Strategy for C-suite executives and senior leadership; Applied Business AI for functional teams; and AI Engineering & Systems Intelligence for transformation, digital and data leaders.
The leadership track covers areas including AI literacy, governance frameworks and monetisation roadmaps, while the applied business track focuses on role-specific and workflow-based AI training using actual business cases.
The engineering and systems intelligence track is aimed at helping organisations bridge the gap between AI pilots and production through data readiness, engineering capabilities and internal expertise to scale AI beyond proofs of concept.
Delivered through workshops and bootcamps, the programme is designed to progressively develop AI capabilities across leadership, business functions and technical teams.
The Ascent certification is issued by GrowthPro.asia, while its programmes are claimable under HRD Corp's Claimable Courses scheme. — DagangNews.com
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