About The Dune

Built by operators, for people who run things

The Dune started as a collaborative business hub for founders. It is now an HRD Corp registered training provider and advisory firm, and it still runs on the same idea: the most useful lessons come from people doing the work.

Founder story

Built by entrepreneurs who learned the hard way

The Dune was founded by entrepreneurs who had been through the difficult parts of building a business themselves, including pushing new ideas against a lot of resistance. They saw how often traditional businesses struggle to attract investors, so they chose to focus on building sustainable foundations instead of chasing outside validation.

What got them through was other people: a network of entrepreneurs, investors and partners who gave advice and encouragement when it counted. That is the idea The Dune is built on. Entrepreneurship works best inside a community that helps.

In October 2024 The Dune opened its collaborative business hub at Light Grey, Sungai Buloh, bringing advisory services, incubator programmes, business matching, peer learning and mentorship under one roof. The Dune Academy, our HRD Corp registered training arm, followed, and to date we have delivered and supported more than 200 trainings and corporate programmes. Today The Dune is based at Ativo Plaza in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

A full training hall during a The Dune Academy programme

Milestones

How we got here

Participants and trainers together after a session at The Dune

October 2024
The Dune opens at Light Grey
The collaborative business hub in Sungai Buloh opens with a grand launch themed "Sands of Time", with HURUF, TESS and SION among its first occupants.
April 2025
HRD Corp registration
The Dune Academy is registered as an HRD Corp training provider, so employers can claim our programmes against their levy.
April 2026
Registration renewed
HRD Corp renews our training provider registration through April 2027.
To date
More than 200 trainings
Over 200 trainings and corporate programmes delivered or supported for startups, SMEs and corporate teams.
Today
The Dune @ Ativo Plaza
We are now based at Ativo Plaza, Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
2026
Advisory and The Collective
Business advisory for founders and SMEs launches, and the founder community continues as The Collective.

In the news

Press coverage

Malaysia SME 22 October 2024

An Ideal Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Grand Opening of Collaborative Business Hub, The Dune

Coverage of the grand opening of The Dune's first hub, at Light Grey, Sungai Buloh: a shared space offering advisory, incubator programmes, business matching, peer learning and mentorship for entrepreneurs at every stage. Co-founder Nicholas Teh spoke about the obstacles new founders tend to hit, from limited business knowledge to funding and weak networks, and how a collaborative community helps with all three.

Read the article on Malaysia SME

How we work

What you can expect from us

Practitioners in the room

Our trainers and advisors hold working roles in real businesses. They teach from projects they ran last quarter, not from a textbook.

We ask before we teach

Every in-house programme starts with a conversation with the managers who will be sending people. The content follows what they need.

We measure what changed

Pre- and post-assessments, manager feedback and a short report. If something didn't land, we want to know and fix it.

Paperwork handled

Course documents, trainer details, attendance and evaluations prepared in the format HRD Corp grant applications require.

Straight answers

If a programme isn't the right fix for a problem, we'll tell you. Sometimes the answer is a process change, not a course.

Registered and accountable

As an HRD Corp registered provider, we're held to its standards on trainers, content and delivery.

The group behind The Dune

Four working companies, one front door

The Dune is part of a group that runs marketing and events, technology, creative, and interior architecture and construction businesses. Their people teach on our programmes and advise our clients. If you need the service rather than the training, you can go straight to them.

Marketing & events

Full-service marketing and events: brand campaigns, digital, activations and corporate events.

Informs our training inDigital marketing, campaign planning, event management

Visit HURUF Technology

Enterprise software house building custom systems, AI, cloud, data and cybersecurity for clients across APAC.

Informs our training inApplied AI, data literacy, cybersecurity, digital transformation

Visit TESS Creative

Creative studio for games, characters, brand identity, animation and digital experiences.

Informs our training inBrand and visual communication, content production, design thinking

Visit SION Interior architecture & construction

Interior design and build for offices, commercial spaces and homes, from concept to handover.

Informs our training inWorkplace planning, fit-out project management, site safety

Visit Dodgson & Sycamore

A marketing course taught by people who ran a campaign last month is a different course.

Credentials

HRD Corp registered training provider

The Dune is registered with HRD Corp (Human Resource Development Corporation), the agency under Malaysia's Ministry of Human Resources that manages the training levy.

Registered name: THE DUNE SDN. BHD.
Certificate no.: 202401032112
Approval date: 19 April 2026
Valid until: 18 April 2027
First registered: April 2025
Issued under: Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad Act 2001

Programmes claimable against employers' HRD Corp levy
Trainers hold HRD Corp Train-the-Trainer certification

View certificate (PDF)

HRD Corp Registered Training Provider badge

HRD Corp Training Provider Registration Certificate issued to The Dune Sdn. Bhd., certificate no. 202401032112, valid 19/04/2026 to 18/04/2027

Valid until 18 Apr 2027

Talk to the team

Whether it's training for fifty staff or advice on a single decision, the first conversation is free and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.

Get in touch See our track record