KOTA KINABALU: Community-empowering businesses were among the five enterprises from Sabah named winners for the Shell LiveWIRE 2022 state finals here, recently.
These five are LJD Corporation co-founder Saila Saidie; Zee Shazila and Ivy Jessica, the co-founders of Give 1 For Two Sdn Bhd; Michelle De La Harpe and Henry Lim, co-founders of Reka Chef Sdn Bhd; Sukod Borneo Enterprise co-founder Vianney Evana Vide; and Cherry Chew Li Ding, co-founder of Hong Xin Food Sdn Bhd.
They each received a start-up fund of RM10,000 and a year of business coaching support from Shell LiveWIRE facilitators to empower them on their entrepreneurial aspirations and assist them in transforming their ideas into full-fledged businesses.
This year’s winners Sukod Borneo Enterprise helps padi farmers in Tambunan gain more income from their harvests through a platform that commercialises Tambunan heirloom rice while Reka Chef is a social media platform for all levels of cooks to spotlight their culinary skills while building an online community to celebrate gastronomy.
LJD Corporation is a social enterprise that empowers underprivileged women and housewives in Sabah through income generation by making photo keychains from plastic waste and environmentally-friendly materials.
Give 1 For Two Sdn Bhd (G1FT) helps underprivileged women in impoverished communities in Kota Kinabalu by helping them generate sustainable income through sewing and Hong Xin Food Sdn Bhd produces healthy snacks made from fermented soybean (tempe).
The winners were among the more than 60 participants who joined this programme where they went through a comprehensive bootcamp that saw 10 selected finalists moving on to the final pitching.
Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd general manager Prithipal Singh said the entrepreneurs were assessed based on their pitches, which demonstrate their drive to grow their business ideas based on their comprehensive business plans.
“It’s inspiring to see our local entrepreneurs not only empowering themselves through their business ventures, but also uplifting their communities by creating employment opportunities through their businesses,” he said.
“I urge our entrepreneurs to leverage on the opportunities provided by Shell LiveWIRE as this connects them with the global LiveWIRE ecosystem, which can propel them to further develop their businesses and contribute towards the socio-economic development of the nation,” he said.
This is Shell’s eighth year in running this entrepreneurship development initiative for Sabahan entrepreneurs.
Following this win, the recipients will 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.
These five winners will compete against five winners each from Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia at the national final of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia, scheduled for next year.
The judges for Shell LiveWIRE Sabah 2022 were Daily Express chief editor Datuk James Sardahthisa; Sabah Land and Survey Department senior administration officer Fridah Ramli; and Survey Department and Yakub Tuarang, Shell Malaysia’s district manager for mobility (Sabah and Sarawak).
