Entrepreneurship development initiative extended to peninsula

FIVE enterprises from Peninsular Malaysia have been selected as winners of Shell LiveWire 2022 by Shell.

This is Shell’s first time in running this entrepreneurship development initiative for Peninsular Malaysia entrepreneurs.

Winning teams named “Sapot”, “Beebag,” “Qarbotech”, “manekNya” and “Sayur Kita” were among over 60 participants who joined the programme.

They went through a comprehensive bootcamp, where 10 finalists moved on to the final pitching competition.

The entrepreneurs were then assessed based on their business pitches, to demonstrate their drive to grow their business ideas based on their comprehensive business plans.

Five winners were then chosen.

“It’s really motivating to see the overwhelming response to the first Shell LiveWire in Peninsular Malaysia, following the success in Sabah since 2015,” said Shell Malaysia managing counsel Rodziah Zainudin.

“I was inspired to see our local entrepreneurs not only empowering themselves through their business ventures, but also striving to create an ecosystem that leverages on digitalisation to uplift their surrounding communities and increase employability.

“I urge our entrepreneurs to leverage on the opportunities provided by Shell LiveWire as this will enable them to connect with the global LiveWire ecosystem, which can propel them to further develop their businesses and contribute towards the socio-economic development of the nation.”

The 2022 winners received a start-up fund of RM10,000 and a year of business coaching support from Shell LiveWire facilitators to assist them in transforming their ideas to full-fledged businesses.

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.

The judges for Shell LiveWire Peninsular Malaysia 2022 were Berita Harian assistant news editor (Business) Shahrizan Salian, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry deputy undersecretary Zalwani Zalkaply and Shell Malaysia Trading convenience retailing, mobility head Lucy Loo.

LiveWire is Shell’s flagship enterprise development programme.

The programme, which started in Sabah in 2015 and in Sarawak in 2016, 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 Peninsular Malaysia 2022 will compete against five winners each from Sabah and Sarawak at the national final of Shell LiveWire Malaysia, which will take place next year.

Winning business teams were:

• Joel Lim and Joshua Lim from Beebag

• Najiya Ilya Md Arif and Nur Fatiha Shuib from Sapot

• Mohamad Syazwan Abdul Rahman and Chor Chee Hoe from Qarbotech

• Lee Swee Lin and Lee Swee May from manekNya

• Mohamad Alif Aminuddin Lani and Naviin Thiagarajan from Sayur Kita

Also present at the award presentation were Shell Malaysia country social performance and social investment advisor Zulkifli Baba Noor, human resources vice- president Shazmi Ali and social performance manager Iris Soh.