Malaysian technology company Katch International is launching NADI: Connecting Wellness, Fitness & Sports, a movement to support the digitalisation of 1,000 wellness, fitness and sports businesses across Selangor by 2027, while building a more connected ecosystem across the three sectors.
NADI seeks to bring together business owners and industry stakeholders across Selangor’s wellness, fitness and sports sectors, strengthen collaboration between operators, accelerate digital adoption, and ultimately make their services more accessible to the people of Selangor.
The movement will begin on Aug 27 with an invitation-only gathering of 50 wellness, fitness and sports business owners at Hyprground Pickleball, Seksyen 19, Petaling Jaya.
NADI is supported by Raja Muda Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who attended the inaugural gathering on Aug 27.
The programme included a dialogue session in which Raja Muda Selangor will engage directly with the attending business owners on the future of the wellness, fitness and sports economy in Selangor. The gathering gives operators from across the three sectors the opportunity to exchange business experiences and build stronger connections with one another.
At the dialogue involving the Raja Muda of Selangor and NADI representatives, Tengku Amir Shah said that programmes like NADI are an excellent move in promoting a healthy lifestyle for people, as it helps improve their lives, especially since the pace of life is extremely fast-moving in the current times.
He has also decreed that sports development should not be focused solely on major tournaments, but should instead be supported by a culture of healthy and continuous competition within the community.
According to Tengku Amir Shah, community-level competitions are important to enable young people to remain active in sports, improve their skills, and build a mentality to achieve success.
"We need to continue organising competitions. The youth need to play consistently every week so that they can train and develop a winning mindset to achieve the set goals," he said.
Tengku Amir added that the rapid development of several sports such as pickleball, running, and chess indicates that society is increasingly inclined towards activities that combine elements of health and social interaction.
The Raja Muda Selangor also made it clear that the success of a sport largely depends on the strength of the community that supports and drives it.
"I have always believed in grassroots development. What is important is how we build communities and provide a platform for them to compete healthily," Tengku Amir said.
In the meantime, His Majesty also emphasised the importance of creating sports spaces that function as community centres, not just locations for recreation.
According to His Majesty, modern sports facilities need to become multifunctional spaces that allow the community to gather, interact, network, and engage in various activities together.
Touching on the challenge of maintaining participation in sports, His Majesty said many athletes stop being active after finishing school when they enter the workforce or higher education.
Therefore, Tengku Amir believes that community-based activities and casual competitions should be increased to ensure that the community continues to engage in lifelong sports.
He also cited the sports culture in Australia, which involves the whole family in weekend activities, as a model that can be emulated to encourage an active lifestyle among the people.
NADI, which means pulse in Bahasa Malaysia, reflects the idea of creating a stronger shared rhythm across Selangor’s wellness, fitness and sports ecosystem.
While the three sectors are closely connected in the way people pursue healthier lifestyles, businesses within wellness, fitness and sports have traditionally developed within their own individual communities.
NADI aims to bring these sectors closer together through a common platform where business owners can connect, exchange knowledge, learn from experienced operators and explore opportunities for collaboration.
For the wider community, the movement aims to make wellness, fitness and sports more accessible by encouraging greater digitalisation among operators, and by creating more opportunities for Selangor residents to discover and take part in healthier, more active lifestyles.
Through Katch’s digital infrastructure, participating businesses will be able to strengthen areas such as bookings, memberships, packages and payments, while consumers will have an easier way to discover and access wellness, fitness and sports services.
“Most operators in this industry are running on WhatsApp and a notebook. Giving them proper digital tools is not about technology for its own sake — it is about a resident in Selangor being able to find a class, a court or a clinic in a few taps. That is the whole point," said Lee Cheng Yun, CEO and Co-Founder of Katch International.
"In short, NADI is promoting all that is connected to a healthy lifestyle that comes under one roof.":
Meanwhile, Nicholas Lai Joon Lim, Co-Organiser, NADI added: “Bringing wellness, fitness and sports operators into one room is what gives this industry its pulse — that is what NADI means, and that is what we set out to do. It is a privilege to have the support of Raja Muda Selangor for this launch. We hope to take NADI to every district in Selangor.”
The inaugural gathering on 27 August is supported by TBH Wellness, Heliaa, Neuro, Capa+ (ProteinPlus), VictoAuthentic, PDC, Ticco and Canton Boy.
The programme includes practitioner-led masterclasses delivered by pitchIN, Malaysia’s equity crowdfunding platform, and Anytime Fitness, covering how operators in the sector can raise capital and scale their businesses.
For the record, NADI is a movement by Katch International to connect Selangor’s wellness, fitness and sports businesses to one another, and to make their services more accessible to the people of Selangor. It brings operators together to connect, exchange knowledge and collaborate, and supports greater digital adoption across the three sectors. NADI is supported by the Raja Muda Selangor.
Katch International, meanwhile, is a Malaysian technology company operating a booking marketplace and operator platform for the wellness, fitness and sports industries across Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Founded in 2021, Katch serves more than 34,000 registered users for their services.
