Gotong royong
Mutual cooperation, in which neighbours work side by side for the common good. We apply it to invention: workshops, mentors and manufacturers pooling their skills so that no inventor has to build alone.
From island workshop to world market.
Submit an idea or a prototype at no cost. With partners across the region, we help you protect it, build it and bring it to the manufacturers, investors and markets that can carry it worldwide.
A Southeast Asian port city at dawnAI-generated image
A Southeast Asian port city at dawnYoung professionals shaping an idea togetherInventor AI: helping reviewers, never replacing themStudents testing a water-level sensorPorts, ships and cranes: a region built on tradeA young inventor at work in a maker spaceFig. 1 · An invention takes shapeAI-generated imageMaju illustrationSheet 1 of 15 · OverviewMJU-2026-001
A virtual invention house for a whole region.
Maju · Inventors Unleashed Southeast Asia is a virtual invention house for young inventors in the eleven ASEAN member states and across the diaspora. Submit an idea or a prototype at no cost. We help you protect it, build it, test it and meet the manufacturers and investors who can take it to markets worldwide.
Fee to inventorNone
Countries11 + diaspora
LanguagesEN · ID · VI · FIL
Stages8, idea to market
OwnershipStays with you
Protection routesNational · ASPEC · PCT
We earnOnly after you do
StatusIn preparation
Sheet 2 of 15 · Who we areMJU-2026-002
Who we are and what we do.
Maju brings together inventors' advocates, patent professionals, engineers, manufacturers, investors and diaspora mentors who share one conviction: Southeast Asia's next industries will be designed, not only assembled, by its own inventors.
Who we are
We are builders, not promoters. Launched in 2026 and coordinated from Long Beach, California, with partners being invited across the region, Maju exists because talent is spread evenly across Southeast Asia, from megacities to remote islands, while access to patent advice, workshops and capital is not. Our work is to close that gap, one inventor and one country at a time, and to earn nothing until the inventors we serve succeed.
What we do
- DiscoverWe find inventors and creators in all eleven member states and across the diaspora, online, by WhatsApp and through local hubs.
- ProtectWe guide every invention to the right protection route and help cover official filing fees.
- BuildWe connect inventors with maker spaces, universities, engineers and the region's manufacturers to build, test and certify their prototypes.
- ConnectWe introduce inventions to investors, manufacturers and first buyers, in Southeast Asia and worldwide.
- CelebrateWe honour the inventors moving their countries forward through the Maju Prize and Crown the Creators.
Films
Film coming soon
Film coming soon
Film coming soon
Sheet 3 of 15 · Our wayMJU-2026-003
We advance together, and we advance by sea.
Every region has its own way of moving forward. Ours is mutual cooperation: the conviction that a community can lift what no single household could carry, and that ideas travel furthest along shared routes.
Bayanihan
The spirit of a community carrying a neighbour's house together. We apply it to every stage of the route: when one inventor succeeds, a share of that success carries the next cohort forward.
Ports, supply chains and shared routes
Southeast Asia has long prospered as a maritime, trading and manufacturing region. Its inventors can advance through the same channels: regional suppliers, cross-border factories, port logistics and the cooperation between national patent offices.
What this means in practice
- Teams before individualsWe encourage cross-border teams and credit every contributor, from the engineer to the fisher who first described the problem.
- Factories as partnersRegional manufacturers are invited in at prototype stage, not only at the end, so that inventions are designed to be made.
- Islands includedA submission from a remote island receives the same review, the same attention and the same support as one from a capital city.
- Protection planned togetherWhere an invention needs several markets, we plan its filings across member states as one strategy, using the cooperation that already exists between patent offices.
No inventor should have to build alone.
Sheet 4 of 15 · From the Stone Age to AIMJU-2026-004
From the Stone Age to artificial intelligence, invention leads the way.
Invention is how humankind has survived, adapted and prospered: from the first stone tools to the artificial intelligence of today. Southeast Asia has always been part of that story, from the oldest known picture story in the world to the ocean-going boats that carried its sailors across two oceans. With the right support and networks, its young inventors can help lead the next chapter.
Invention is how nations rise.
- An idea
- A prototype
- A factory
- Jobs and skills
- A stronger country
- Progress for humankind
One invention, carried to market, becomes a company. A company creates jobs and skills. Jobs build stronger countries, and stronger countries move all of humankind forward.
The path of human progress
- About 3.3 million years agoThe first stone tools
The oldest tools known mark the beginning of the long human story of invention.
- At least 51,200 years agoTelling stories in pictures
A cave painting at Leang Karampuang, on Sulawesi in Indonesia, shows human-like figures with a wild pig: the oldest known narrative art in the world.
Born in Southeast Asia - About 10,000 years agoFarming
Growing crops and raising animals allowed settled communities, and later cities, to grow.
- About 3200 BCEWriting
Some of the world's earliest writing systems appear in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and knowledge can now be recorded.
- About 1500 BCEOutrigger boats and ocean voyaging
Austronesian-speaking peoples of island Southeast Asia developed outrigger boats, which carried voyagers as far as Madagascar to the west and Polynesia to the east.
Born in Southeast Asia - About 400 BCE to 300 CEThe Dong Son bronze drums
Bronze-casters in northern and central Vietnam made great ceremonial drums that travelled by trade across the region, from southern China to Indonesia.
Born in Southeast Asia - From the 9th centuryThe subak of Bali
A cooperative system of canals, weirs and water temples through which farmers share water fairly. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Born in Southeast Asia - 1440sThe printing press
Books could be copied quickly, and knowledge spread faster than ever before.
- 18th and 19th centuriesSteam and electricity
Engines and electric power transformed how people live, work and travel.
- 1989Sound Blaster, from Singapore
Creative Technology of Singapore introduced a sound card that became the de facto standard for audio on personal computers.
Born in Southeast Asia - 1990sThe internet
Computers around the world connected, and information became available to billions.
- TodayArtificial intelligence
Machines that learn now assist discovery, from medicine to climate research.
- NextSoutheast Asia's inventors
With the right support and networks, the region can help lead what comes next. Maju exists to build that support.
Scroll to follow the path →
Sources: Griffith University (Leang Karampuang, 2024) · Outrigger boat · EBSCO, Dong Son culture · UNESCO, Subak system of Bali · Sound Blaster
Ideas travel further when we carry them together.
A region of creators
With the commitment of governments, civil society and every woman and man of Southeast Asia, and with strong support networks behind them, the region can take a leading role in the next age of invention. We are a region of creators and inventors.
- Governments
Policies, patent offices and public purchasing that back local invention.
- Civil society
Schools, universities, associations and media that celebrate the people who build.
- Every woman and man of Southeast Asia
Ideas, talent and the courage to try, in every member state and across the diaspora.
- Strong support networks
Investors, mentors, manufacturers and partners who carry inventions to market.
Sheet 5 of 15 · Inventions UnleashedMJU-2026-005
Inventions Unleashed.
Ten bold ideas to free Southeast Asia's inventive power, from the island workshop to the global market. Each one is designed to be piloted, measured and scaled across the region.
- New ideaThe Invention Passport
One secure digital record for every inventor: dated submission, reviews, protection status and milestones. It travels with them across borders and opens doors with investors.
- New ideaMobile invention labs
Shipping containers fitted with 3D printers, small machine tools and solar power, travelling by road and by ferry to towns and islands so that no idea is lost for lack of a workshop.
- New ideaEleven Challenges
Each year, every participating member state sets one national challenge, in water, energy, food, health or disaster resilience, and invites its inventors to solve it, with a first buyer ready.
- New ideaAdopt a Patent
Members of the diaspora sponsor the official filing fees of one invention from their country of origin, and follow its progress from patent to market.
- New ideaThe Bayanihan Trust
A share of every success fee goes into a trust that funds the next cohort, so each inventor who succeeds helps carry the ones who follow.
- New ideaThe Maju Invention Index
An annual public index of patents, prototypes, investment and support for inventors in each member state, so that progress is measured and celebrated.
- New ideaInventor AI on WhatsApp
A multilingual assistant that answers inventors' first questions in their own language, explains protection in plain terms and helps them prepare a strong submission, all from a basic phone.
- New ideaTraditional knowledge, protected
A registry, built with communities and with their consent, that helps protect traditional knowledge, from textiles to herbal remedies, and ensures communities share in the value it creates.
- Our way · new ideaFactory Bridge
A matching service that connects inventors with the region's manufacturers, from small workshops to export factories, to produce samples, small batches and a first commercial run.
- Our way · new ideaIsland-to-Market
Shared logistics for inventors on remote islands: consolidated shipping of prototypes and products through partner ports, with help on packaging, customs and delivery to buyers.
Sheet 6 of 15 · CommitmentsMJU-2026-006
Our claims, written the way patents are.
A patent ends with claims: precise statements of exactly what is protected. These are the commitments every inventor can hold us to.
- Submitting is free.No evaluation fees, no marketing packages and no upfront charges of any kind.
- We earn only after you do.A modest share of a licence or of a company you build, disclosed and agreed in writing before any deal is signed.
- Your invention stays yours.If we cannot help it reach the market, nothing changes hands and you are free to pursue any other route.
- Private by default.Nothing is shown to an investor or published without your explicit consent.
- Every answer is honest and written.Including "not yet", always with the next step you can take on your own.
- Our results are public.Each year we publish how many inventions were accepted, protected, funded and brought to market.
Sheet 7 of 15 · The routeMJU-2026-007
Eight stages from idea to market.
Each invention moves at its own pace. Some will license to a manufacturer after stage five; others will grow into companies. Every stage has a safeguard for the inventor.
Stage 01
Submit
Send your idea, sketch, video or prototype online, on a basic phone connection or through WhatsApp.
SafeguardA dated, private record of your submission.
Stage 02
Evaluate
Independent reviewers assess novelty, feasibility and market need, and write up their findings for you.
SafeguardReviewers declare any conflict of interest.
Stage 03
Protect
Prior-art guidance, referral to pro bono patent help, and support with official filing fees.
SafeguardWe take no ownership at this stage.
Stage 04
Build
Prototype support through maker spaces, universities and engineering mentors near you.
SafeguardFunding released by milestone, not in one lump.
Stage 05
Validate
Real users test it. We help with pricing, standards and certification for your target markets.
SafeguardEvidence filed in your own data room.
Stage 06
Connect
Curated introductions to angels, funds, manufacturers and diaspora investors, plus showcase days.
SafeguardInvestors sign confidentiality terms first.
Stage 07
Commercialize
License it, start a company, or sign a supply agreement with a buyer: the route that fits.
SafeguardIndependent legal review of every contract.
Stage 08
Go global
Export readiness, distribution partners, port logistics and online channels to reach buyers worldwide.
SafeguardLifelong access to the alumni network.
Sheet 8 of 15 · Who it servesMJU-2026-008
Two sides of one table.
For inventors and creators
Talent is spread evenly across Southeast Asia. Access to patents, workshops and capital is not. That gap is what we close.
- Who can apply
- Inventors aged 16 to 35 (with a parent's consent under 18), working alone or in teams of up to five.
- Where from
- Any of the eleven ASEAN member states, or the Southeast Asian diaspora anywhere in the world.
- Stage
- From a first sketch to a working prototype already in use.
- Sectors
Keep the "how" private for now. In your first submission, describe the problem, who would buy the solution and what it does. Do not include the technical details of how it works until we have discussed protection with you.
Submit your inventionFor investors and partners
A screened pipeline of Southeast Asian inventions, each with the evidence investors look for before they commit.
- What you see
- Independent technical review, patent status and filing route, prototype evidence and market validation, organised in a data room.
- Who joins
- Angel investors, funds and development finance institutions, manufacturers seeking licences or new products, diaspora investors and foundations.
- Ways to engage
- Our role
- Maju makes introductions. It does not hold investor funds, sell securities or give investment advice. Every investment is made directly between the parties under applicable law.
Sheet 9 of 15 · ProtectionMJU-2026-009
Protecting an invention in Southeast Asia.
There is no single ASEAN patent: each member state's office decides under its own law. What the region does offer is cooperation between patent offices, which can make protection in several countries faster. Choosing the right route early saves inventors money and time, and we guide each inventor to the route that fits their market.
| Route | Coverage | How it works | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| National offices | Every member state, each under its own law | A separate application with each national office; there is no single regional patent. | Inventions aimed at one or two key markets |
| ASPECSince 2009 | Nine participating offices: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam | One office's search and examination results are shared with another, reducing duplicated work. | The same invention filed in several member states |
| ASPEC+From 6 April 2026 | The same nine offices, under the existing ASPEC framework | The offices an applicant selects coordinate their examination, aiming for first office actions within 10 to 14 months. Each office still decides under its own law. | Inventors who need faster, coordinated results in several markets |
| PCT | Nine of the eleven member states, and most countries worldwide | One international application that preserves the right to file in many countries later. | Inventions with export or licensing potential abroad |
Sources: Baker McKenzie, ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation Plus (2026) · Allen & Gledhill, ASPEC+ in effect from 6 April 2026 · WIPO, PCT Contracting States
The Patent Fee Fund
Official filing fees are the barrier most young inventors cannot cross, even when legal help is free. The Patent Fee Fund, financed by sponsors, will cover official fees for selected inventions. Sponsors can fund a single filing or an entire cohort.
Sheet 10 of 15 · The PrizeMJU-2026-010
The Maju Prize.
Each year, every participating member state names its Inventor of the Year: the person whose invention is doing most to move the country forward. The national winners then compete for the regional Maju Prize, presented on ASEAN Day, 8 August.
Stage oneNational rounds
Run with a partner university or innovation hub in each member state, with a local jury.
Stage twoNational Inventors of the Year
One winner per country, celebrated at home and supported for a full year.
FinalThe regional Prize
Chosen from the national winners by a jury drawn from across the region and presented on ASEAN Day.
Six categories
- Grand PrizeThe invention doing most to move its country and the region forward.
- Young InventorFor inventors aged 16 to 21.
- Women in InventionHonouring women who build, and the girls who will follow them.
- Diaspora InventorAn invention built for Southeast Asian markets or produced in the region.
- Made in Southeast AsiaRegional raw materials, turned into finished products in the region's own workshops and factories.
- People's ChoiceDecided by public vote.
The Impact Score
The Prize rewards real impact, not only a promising idea. Every entry is scored on five published criteria.
- Jobs created and people served30%
- Local materials and regional manufacturing20%
- Ability to scale across borders20%
- Protection secured15%
- Integrity and willingness to mentor15%
Proposed weighting, to be finalised with the founding jury.
$50,000Regional winner
The Maju Prize, presented on ASEAN Day.
$10,000Each category winner
Six categories, decided at the regional final.
$2,500Each national winner
Plus full support through every stage of the programme.
More than a cheque
Multi-country patent filing paidPrototyping or manufacturing grantFront row at the investor showcaseA year of mentoringA documentary featureA trophy handmade by the region's artisansA year as national ambassador
No entry fee, ever. An independent jury drawn from across Southeast Asia declares any conflict of interest. Cash awards are paid partly on award and partly against milestones, so each prize builds a business. Award amounts are targets and will be confirmed as founding sponsors join.
NowFounding sponsors and national partners invited
ASEAN Day 2027Founding showcase of the first cohort
ASEAN Day 2028First full Prize and Creators of the Year final
Every year afterHost country rotates across the member states
Sheet 11 of 15 · Crown the CreatorsMJU-2026-011
What should a nation crown?
Pageants command sponsors, prime-time television and a nation's attention. A crown tells the next generation what its country values. For the next decade, we propose that those resources crown the young people who build.
Miss and Mister Creator of the Year
Keep everything that makes a pageant work: national pride, regional rounds, glamour, a live televised final and a crown. Change what is judged.
- Contestants aged 18 to 35 present an invention, a business or a creative work that solves a real problem.
- Each member state crowns a Miss Creator and a Mister Creator; national winners go on to the regional final of the Maju Prize.
- Engineers, investors and entrepreneurs judge alongside a public vote, using the Impact Score.
- The prize is a crown with real weight: seed funding, paid patent fees, a year of mentoring and a year as national ambassador visiting schools.
The Youth Enterprise Decade
We invite governments, sponsors, broadcasters and pageant organisers to redirect the resources they give to pageants into creator competitions for ten years. Ten years is enough to change what a generation dreams about.
This is not a campaign against contestants. Many are accomplished, and some pageants fund scholarships and good causes. Pageant organisers know how to produce a show, raise sponsorship and fill a stadium, which is exactly what a creator gala needs. We invite them to lead this change with us.
Support the pledgeOn the Maju channel
A YouTube channel with new episodes every week. Verified inventions only: every featured invention is reviewed by an engineer before it airs.
- Inventors UnleashedProfiles of Southeast Asian inventors and what they need next.
- Crown the CreatorsThe case for Miss and Mister Creator of the Year.
- Patent in 60 SecondsPlain-language lessons on protecting an idea.
- Raw to FinishedHow the region's raw materials become finished products, and who keeps the value.
- Out of Poverty for GoodHow economies that were once poor built their industries within a generation.
- The Road to the PrizeFollowing each year's cohort to the final on ASEAN Day.
- Investor RoomInvestors explain, in their own words, what they look for.
Channel launching soon.
Sheet 12 of 15 · Across the regionMJU-2026-012
Built to reach all eleven member states.
Maju works through institutions that already exist, so every country, and every island, can take part without waiting for new buildings.
Invention Hubs
One partner university, innovation hub or maker space in each member state hosts intake days, prototyping and the national round of the Prize.
Patent offices
Working with national patent offices, the ASPEC network and, where it operates, WIPO's Inventor Assistance Program to lower costs and speed up referrals.
The First Buyer pledge
Governments and large companies each agree to pilot one Maju invention a year. A first customer is often what convinces investors.
Maju Invents Week
Open days, school challenges and investor showcases in every participating country, in the week leading up to ASEAN Day.
The Virtual Invention Warehouse
A public online gallery of protected Southeast Asian inventions, shown with their inventors' consent, where manufacturers, investors and buyers can browse.
Open to everyone
Submission by WhatsApp and SMS, a mobile app that works offline, and radio partners for islands and rural areas where data is expensive.
Maju is designed to support goals the region's governments have already set: the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan 2026–2030, and the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, whose negotiations concluded in May 2026. Timor-Leste joined ASEAN as its eleventh member in October 2025.
Sources: ASEAN Community Vision 2045 · ASEAN IP Portal, AIPRAP 2026–2030 · Rajah & Tann Asia, DEFA negotiations concluded · Viet Nam News, Timor-Leste becomes ASEAN's 11th member
Sheet 13 of 15 · StructureMJU-2026-013
One mission, two entities.
The free programme and the commercial work are kept separate, so inventors are served first and every deal stays transparent.
Maju Foundation
- Runs the free inventor programme, evaluations and mentoring
- Manages the Patent Fee Fund
- Funded by grants, sponsors and donors
Maju Ventures
- Handles licensing, company formation and investor introductions
- Earns disclosed success shares only after deals close
- Reinvests part of its returns in the Foundation's programme
Both entities are being established.
Sheet 14 of 15 · Sister organisationsMJU-2026-014
One family, six regions, each moving forward in its own way.
Maju is a member of the Inventors Unleashed family: independent sister organisations that share one model, free for inventors and transparent for investors, while each region advances according to its own way of thinking.
Each sister organisation has its own name, languages and priorities. All of them share the same standards of integrity and the conviction that every region can invent its own future.
- Kuumba · Africa InventionsSister organisation
- Adelante · Inventors Unleashed Latin America & CaribbeanSister organisation
- Aage · Inventors Unleashed South AsiaSister organisation
- Maju · Inventors Unleashed Southeast AsiaThis site
- Alga · Inventors Unleashed Central Asia & CaucasusSister organisation
- Vaka · Inventors Unleashed Pacific IslandsSister organisation
Where every invention begins
Every invention began with a question.
How do we solve a problem that keeps coming back in our lives or in our communities? How do we improve a solution that exists but still falls short? Most of history's great inventions started there.
- 01Ask
What problem could you solve today? Which existing invention or solution could you make better, cheaper, safer or easier to use?
- 02Write it down
Put the problem and your idea on paper, with a sketch if you can. Date it and keep it. A written idea can be tested, improved and protected.
- 03Contact us
When you think you have the solution, or even part of it, submit it. We will help you with the rest.
Questions to start your notebook
- What wastes time, money or energy in your home, farm, school or business every week?
- What tool or service almost works, but fails the people who need it most?
- What problem do people around you simply accept because no one has fixed it?
Our responsibility
No one will build our future for us.
No one else will solve our problems, transform our raw materials, or invent and create in our place. It is time to stop waiting for others and to take action today.
- Solve a problem.
- Propose a solution.
- Build what comes next.
Every problem we solve brings us closer to well-being and a better future for the generations that follow.
Invention made life as we know it possible.
Will you take the lead and create something, or remain a passenger on the locomotive of progress?
No idea or prototype is too small. Submit what you have in mind today: ideas once dismissed as insignificant have changed the world.
Sheet 15 of 15 · ApplyMJU-2026-015
Start here.
Inventors, tell us about your idea. Investors and partners, tell us how you would like to take part. We reply to every message.
Maju is in preparation. Full submissions and reviews open in each country once founding partners there are confirmed. You can register your invention, your interest or a nomination now, and we will contact you as soon as your country opens.
Every idea is welcomeNo idea or prototype is too small. Submit what you have in mind today: ideas once dismissed as insignificant have changed the world.
Submission received.
Thank you. A reviewer will reply within ten working days with a written first assessment and the next step.
Interest registered.
Thank you. We will be in touch about the founding cohort and the first showcase.
Nomination received.
Thank you. We will contact the nominee and keep you informed.
Questions inventors ask.
Is it really free?
Yes. Submitting, evaluation, mentoring and introductions cost the inventor nothing. Maju is funded by sponsors and grants, and earns only a disclosed share of a licence or company after a deal is made.
Who owns my invention?
You do. Submitting gives us no rights to it. Any share we receive later is agreed with you in writing before a deal is signed, and you can seek independent advice first.
Do I need a patent before applying?
No. Most inventors apply before filing anything. We help you decide whether and where to file, and in what order, so you do not lose your rights by revealing too much too early.
I live outside Southeast Asia. Can I apply?
Yes. Inventors of the Southeast Asian diaspora are welcome, especially when the invention can serve, or be produced in, the region's markets.
How are investors involved?
Investors register their interests and, after signing confidentiality terms, see inventions whose inventors have agreed to be introduced. Investments, licences and contracts are made directly between the parties.
What if my invention is not accepted?
You receive a written explanation and practical next steps. You can improve the invention and submit again at any time.
When do submissions open?
Maju is in preparation. Full reviews begin in each country once founding partners there are confirmed. You can register today through the forms on this page; your registration is dated and kept private, and we will contact you as soon as your country opens.
Can I file one patent for the whole of ASEAN?
No. There is no single ASEAN patent: each member state grants its own. Programmes such as ASPEC and ASPEC+ let participating offices share or coordinate their examination work, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty lets you keep options open in many countries with one international application. We help you choose the right combination.