Shell invests in Sarawak’s budding entrepreneurs

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Tan is seen during the Shell LiveWIRE 2022 at the Tegas Digital Village.

KUCHING (Dec 20): Shell continues to invest in Sarawak’s entrepreneurial drive as it awards five entrepreneurs the state winners of Shell LiveWIRE 2022, with its partner, Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (TEGAS).

The event was officiated by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who also witnessed Shell and TEGAS finalising the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding for their collaboration in Shell’s LiveWIRE programme.

This year’s winning enterprises SPL Food Industries Sdn Bhd, Hornbill Networks Consortium Sdn Bhd, Fatin Hanna Bakes, Easygrow and Zueema Enterprise were part of over 60 participants who joined this programme.

They went through an intensive bootcamp, where 10 selected finalists moved on to the final pitching competition. Here, the entrepreneurs were assessed based on their business pitches, which demonstrate their drive to grow their business ideas based on their comprehensive business plans and five winners were chosen thereafter.

The five winning entrepreneurs received a start-up fund of RM10,000 from Shell and an additional RM5,000 from TEGAS. They will also receive a year of business coaching to flourish their business plans into full-fledged businesses and access facilities and opportunities made available by TEGAS.

Additionally, the winners will also be given the opportunity to connect with the global LiveWIRE ecosystem and share their knowledge with entrepreneurs around the globe, while standing a chance to compete in the annual Shell Global Top Ten Innovators Awards.

“Shell LiveWIRE is the flagship enterprise development programme of Shell, which strengthens local economies across the globe by promoting entrepreneurship and developing entrepreneurs,” shared Datuk Ivan Tan, chairman of Shell Malaysia and senior vice president, Upstream Malaysia.

“We aim to contribute to the local economy through entrepreneurship, innovation, and meaningful employment. Every year we support thousands of individuals to access knowledge, skills, networks and resources to turn their ideas into successful businesses.

“Through this initiative, not only do we develop entrepreneurs, but we also empower them to uplift the livelihoods of their communities through job opportunities.”

Tan recapped that the programme was introduced in Sarawak in 2016.

In 2017, TEGAS joined Shell as its LiveWIRE strategic partner to further amplify the impact of promoting entrepreneurial development specific to the communities in Sarawak

“To date, we have invested over RM4 million in organising the programme, awarded approximately RM400,000 start-up grants and trained over 300 budding entrepreneurs, who have now become successful business owners.

“Shell LiveWIRE enables young people around the world to start up and run viable businesses. It is how Shell helps tackle unemployment by providing budding entrepreneurs with pre-start up business awareness, planning and management training, business capital, and mentorship.

“The participants get connected to an entrepreneurial ecosystem from the local and global business network. On the global front, besides networking and sharing, they also stand a chance to compete in the Global Top Ten Innovators – a platform that celebrates the excellence in entrepreneurship among the Shell LiveWIRE fraternity from 20 countries around the world.”

He further noted that Shell LiveWIRE has evolved over time since its initial days.

“With the existing supply chain opportunity that we have within our Shell retail network, we have connected many Shell LiveWIRE entrepreneurs with Shell retailers and business owners.”

This initiative, branded as BERTAMU @Shell has provided opportunites for the entrepreneurs to become the vendors of our retail network, resulting in 99 business contracts sealed by LiveWIRE entrepreneurs within the last 4 months.

The marketplace engagements that connect LiveWIRE Sarawak alumni with our Shell retailers and business owners were a collaborative effort between Shell and TEGAS, and were held at TEGAS Digital Hubs in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu.

The judges for Shell LiveWIRE Sarawak 2022 were TEGAS Digital Village general manager Manzoor Hayat Khan, The Borneo Post chief reporter Churchill Edward; and Shell Malaysia senior territory manager (mobility) Alex Pega Mahda.

Shell LiveWIRE aims to inspire young entrepreneurs to innovate and produce real business solutions that meets today’s socio-economic needs. The five winners of Shell LiveWIRE Sarawak 2022 will compete against five winners each from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia at the national final of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia, which will take place next year.