Montigo Goes Global: Melvin Chee of RPG Commerce

Malaysia has many entrepreneurs, but too few consumer brands that scale beyond our borders. Montigo’s rise shows that the gap is not in talent. It is in mindset and the kind of support that helps founders think bigger.

Founded in 2017 by Melvin Chee, RPG Commerce began as an e-commerce company. Within five years its Montigo bottles became a regional phenomenon, sold in Singapore, the UAE, Thailand and Indonesia, with more than 60 physical stores. RPG has since expanded into cookware with Cosmic Cookware and family-focused products with OiYO, building a house of brands rather than relying on a single hit.

The real difference was intent. Chee’s goal from day one was to build with global ambition. “Montigo is drinkware, it’s a lifestyle product, and it’s a functional product. The total addressable market for us is so wide, so it’s a reflection of our global ambition from the start,” he explains. That mindset guided decisions on design, distribution and markets.

Capital translated that ambition into scale. RPG has raised USD34.5 million across two rounds, with a valuation of USD130 million. Investors provided networks and guidance as much as funding. Among the early backers was RHL Ventures via Penjana Kapital, now part of Jelawang Capital. That continuity underscores how aligned capital can help transform a founder’s vision into a regional force.

Going Where Few Startups Go

Montigo’s expansion into the Middle East shows how Malaysian companies can break new ground. Few ASEAN startups start there. Chee did, even if it meant learning the market from scratch. “It took us a while to set up our Middle East operations because we knew nobody there. We had to knock on every door to make sure we find the right partner to help us set everything up on the ground.”

For Chee, the experience highlights why ecosystem collaboration matters. “With a collaborative ecosystem, founders will be able to shortcut this process in the future, tapping into networks with existing know-how. The VC ecosystem helps bridge connections and shorten the learning curve for founders.”

Building in Malaysia, Scaling Beyond

Malaysia is now gaining recognition as a startup destination. In 2025, Kuala Lumpur broke into the world’s top 20 emerging startup ecosystems in rankings by Startup Genome. The report cited KL’s diversity, affordability and resilience. For founders, this creates an ideal environment to test and refine ideas before scaling regionally.

Chee agrees. “Malaysia has a strong talent pool. We value our diversity and the ability to communicate harmoniously across different backgrounds. The Government’s push towards digitalisation is also highly supportive of startups.”

Yet he is also clear-eyed about the next stage. Today most revenue comes from Malaysia and Singapore. Over the next few years, he expects those markets to account for less than half of revenues as Montigo’s globalisation plan takes shape. “Be ambitious and think global. You can be the champion in one market, but building something much larger requires the right partners when exploring new markets. Keep building, scale up and expand.”

What This Means for the Ecosystem

Montigo is not an anomaly. It is a signal. It proves Malaysian founders can compete regionally and globally if ambition and capital align. For this to happen more often, investors must encourage cross-border growth, policymakers must smooth pathways to internationalisation, and founders must set their sights beyond borders from the very start.

At Jelawang Capital, we see ambition matched with the right support as the key to Malaysia’s competitiveness.  This will be be measured by how many companies we help grow into regional and global leaders. Montigo shows what is possible and can be done. We bring capital, networks and a bias for scale so ambition turns into operating reality. Our task as an ecosystem catalyst is to make outcomes like this common.