Dr Hazland (back row, third left) joins other guests and the three top participants in a group photo.
KUCHING: Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) is no longer functioning just to promote technical, vocational and engineering training (TVet) to Sarawakians.
Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Saleh, who is also Tegas chairman, describes the functions and objectives of Tegas, which was established seven years ago, as ‘having evolved’.
It is now empowered to develop talents through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and entrepreneurship.
One of the ways is to hold boot camps to assist young local entrepreneurs such as the Pre-Accelerator Bootcamp (TPAB), which gathered 20 start-ups from Kuching, Samarahan, Bintulu, Miri and Mukah.
“Though the journey is still long to go, I dare to say that Tegas would not reach up to this level if we were not supported by our strategic partners, who are always willing to provide support with their resources.
“For instance, this second cohort of TPAB is jointly organised by Tegas’ strategic partners – WatchTower and Friends Accelerator (WTF), which has produced a number of notable alumni start-ups such as TheLorry, MoneyMatch, MyCash Online, PostCo, ParkIt, Lapasar and Omnimatics, just to name a few. I hope all the participants would use the opportunity to learn from your mentors, as well as from each other,” he said at the closing of ‘TPAB Cohort 2’ at Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA)-Tegas Digital Inovation Hub yesterday.
Len Talif’s text-of-speech was read by Demak Laut assemblyman Dr Hazland Abang Hipni, who is also a member of Tegas board of trustees.
The TPAB Cohort 2 involved Fouracle, Hello Gabby, Circle Tech, Get Hero, Soaring Games, Miracolo, Vroom Delivery, Mariadra, Edaberan, Family Bus, Jorvel, Landmiles Mobile, Lit.cn, Naru Film, The Bery, Uncle Green, Volume, Timogah, Hedjraa and Foodhero.
According to Len Talif, the one-week TPAB was designed to bring early-stage start-ups to the next level – from validating ideas to creating a minimum viable product (MVP) and a go-to-market strategy.
He added that the content was delivered by industry experts and seasoned entrepreneurs, covering topics such as business fundamentals, customer and product development, marketing, operations, fundraising, and pitching.
As such, the participants experienced first-hand accounts from some of these leading founders tracing their road to success in their start-up journeys.
“The programme is supported by SMA and is one of the key programmes in the Sarawak Digital Village Ecosystem. Tegas is also collaborating with SMA in operating the Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu.
“DIH serves as an inclusive avenue to nurture talents, support entrepreneurs and create innovators for Sarawak. Besides that, DIH offers access to co-working space and shared amenities, funding opportunities and facilitation, incubation and acceleration programmes as well as an entrepreneur-friendly ecosystem,” he added.
Yesterday’s event also saw Hello Gabby, Miracolo and Uncle Green being named winners after they impressed the panel with their pitches. The three earned themselves ‘green lane’ to pitch for Tegas Startup Lab, Sarawak Shell LiveWIRE and WTF Accelerator.
Each of the three start-ups is set to receive an attractive package that includes company incorporation support and three-month access to Tegas DIH.