Nov 14, 2018
Winning entrepreneurs walk away with RM15,000 from Shell Malaysia and TEGAS.
Kuching – Five entrepreneurs who were announced winners of the 2018 Sarawak Shell LiveWIRE programme were awarded a RM15,000 seed grant from Shell Malaysia and Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (TEGAS) Digital Innovation Hub, today. The winners were chosen after going through a series of workshops and a business model assessment competition.
Alongside the seed grant, the winners were provided with mentoring and coaching support from Shell LiveWIRE facilitators for the next three years to assist them in transforming their ideas to full-fledged businesses.
Now in its third year, the Sarawak Shell LiveWIRE programme is in partnership with TEGAS Digital Innovation Hub, which not only provides the venue for the workshops in Kuching, but also an additional RM5,000 to each winner, on top of the RM10,000 contributed by Shell Malaysia.
From an overall participation of almost 100 entrepreneurs who presented their ideas this year, 30 were selected to attend a rigorous ‘Become A Successful Owner Manager’ workshop. Here, they were required to submit their business plans that incorporated a detailed business model and strategy. These business plans went through a stringent assessment which resulted in the selection of the best 10.
The final 10 entrepreneurs then proceeded to a Pitching Workshop & Competition where they pitched their ideas to an independent panel of judges, who selected the five winning ideas.
“I presented the awards to last year’s winning ideas, which I felt were diverse and creative, but this year I am introduced to a new set of innovative ideas that I’ve not heard of before. I’m happy that our Sarawakian entrepreneurs have a platform to unveil new business ideas and garner the support needed, through the Sarawak Shell LiveWIRE programme,” said Awangku Merali Pengiran Mohamed, Chief Operating Officer of TEGAS.
Awangku Merali represented the Chairman of TEGAS, YB Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh, to present the awards to this year’s winners at the Global Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators Awards Ceremony, held in Kuching, Sarawak on the 14th of November 2018.
According to Datuk Iain Lo, Country Chairman of Shell Malaysia, the Shell LiveWIRE programme requires participants to undergo rigorous workshops and presentations to ensure that they are not only committed to their business ideas but are also aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
“The programme empowers participants to overcome the challenges they may face in starting their businesses and guides them in coming up with solutions that will ensure the sustainability of their businesses,” he added.
Most of this year’s finalists had altruistic intent at the core of their business, which is to benefit the masses as opposed to just being profitable. For example, one of this year’s winners, Sulie Abell, aims to assist rural farmers in her home village of Simanggang, Sri Aman, by contracting them to grow organic produce to be turned into skincare products under her brand name of Sluvi & Co.
“Even though I’ve participated in other entrepreneurial development programmes before, the Sarawak Shell LiveWIRE programme’s encouragement for social enterprises through the support and mentoring of the facilitators has certainly increased my confidence to deliver my skincare products for the benefit of the farmers in Simanggang. I can’t wait to continue my coaching and see how far I can go in helping these farmers earn additional income,” said Sulie, at the winners’ awards ceremony.
“Beyond just pursuing a business idea, we were taught to keep our business ideas centered around solving common issues as that would ensure the sustainability of our business. I love that the programme didn’t just take our idea at face value; it challenged us to think on the impact it would create and what we will achieve by turning it into a business,” said Mohd Marzwan Abdul Rahman, who intends to introduce lobster farming as a supplementary income for low income earners in Sarawak.
Shell LiveWIRE is an entrepreneurial programme that seeks to unveil potential start-up entrepreneurs in Sabah and Sarawak. It aims to inspire young entrepreneurs to innovate and produce real business solutions that meets today’s socio-economic needs. Some entrepreneurs from this programme have been included into the Shell supply chain, where their products and services have been used in the company’s day-to-day business.
The programme was first introduced in Sarawak in 2016. Sarawak Shell LiveWIRE has seen a total of 230 entrepreneurs who have come into contact with the programme, till date. The total number of recipients of the programme’s seed grant are 15, as of today.
For further information on Shell’s LiveWIRE programmes, log on to www.shell.com
Sarawak Shell LiveWIRE 2018 winners with Awangku Merali Pengiran Mohamed, Chief Operating Officer of TEGAS, third from left and Datuk Iain Lo, Chairman of SHell Malaysia, fourth from left.
For further Media Enquiries, please contact:
PREMA JAYABALAN
Senior Manager, Media Relations and Issue Management, Shell Malaysia
Email: prema.jayabalan@shell.com
About Shell – www.shell.com.my
Shell is a global leader in power, energy, and gas technology and is working to meet increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, infrastructure, and by developing new energy sources while addressing the impact on the environment. Malaysia is one of Shell’s heartlands. The history of Royal Dutch Shell in Malaysia started more than 125 years ago in Miri, Sarawak. Shell currently has a strong market presence in the upstream and downstream sector in Malaysia.
Notes to Editors:
About Shell LiveWIRE
The Shell Malaysia LiveWIRE programme consists of workshops aimed at equipping youth entrepreneurs of Sabah and Sarawak to unleash their entrepreneurial potential. These workshops include:
- Bright Ideas – The first workshop which develops entrepreneurs’ understanding of the local market and helps them generate business ideas with the highest potential in Malaysia.
- Become a Successful Owner Manager (BSOM). Aimed at refining the business ideas of individual entrepreneurs, this workshop ensures that participants can develop a robust plan to develop their respective businesses.
- Masterclasses – Dedicated sessions open to all members of the LiveWIRE programme to develop specific concepts or skills relevant to their businesses, such as Branding and Marketing, Supply Chain Management, etc.
- Pitching workshop and competition – The latest addition to the Shell Malaysia LiveWIRE repertoire of workshops, the pitching workshop and competition aims to provide the necessary skills for leading entrepreneurs to seek support from private and public sectors to grow their businesses.
The five recipients of the seed grant from Sarawak are:
NAME OF RECIPIENT
Mohd Marzwan bin Abd Rahman
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
The Lobster Project aims to provide an accessible solution to alternative sources of livelihood for the lowest income earners in Sarawak through fresh water lobster farming.
NAME OF RECIPIENT
Sulie Abell
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
Sluvi is a social enterprise focused on helping the rural farmers of Simanggang by purchasing their produce to be turned into organic skincare products, suitable for all skin types.
NAME OF RECIPIENT
Jason Foong Wei Khiong
BUSINESS DESCRIPTIONGreen Oasis intends to be Sarawak’s leading producer of affordable and pesticide-free vegetables using an integrated urban hydroponic satellite farm system.
NAME OF RECIPIENT
Heineken Laluan
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
Timogah.com is an online shopping platform for market produce with delivery service within the Kuching area. His platform promotes indigenous produce that comes from the jungles of Borneo and from rural farmers.
NAME OF RECIPIENT
Izuwan Rabaie
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
Thirst Milkshake produces refreshing and tasty beverages to the masses, with an emphasis on local Sarawakian flavours that are free from artificial flavours.
