Wednesday May 14, 2008
Waste conversion business plan lands team two prizes
KUALA LUMPUR: Team Dapez won not one but two awards last night in the national finals of the HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA) 2007/08.
The first-prize winning team comprising undergraduates Dominic Teoh Kok Kwang, Choong Zhen Han and Elizabeth Beh Li En also took home the Eco-Business Innovation Award.
Top winners: Elizabeth, Dominic and Zhen Han (right) posing with HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd deputy chairman Irene M. Dorner yesterday. They walked away with a RM10,000 self-development fund, trophies, certificates and the opportunity to compete in the regional competition in Hong Kong next month where they stand the chance to win a business development fund of HK$100,000 (about RM50,000).
The Eco-Business Innovation Award brought with it a cash prize of RM3,000.
“I am really excited and we hope we can make our business idea a reality,” said Teoh, adding that his grandfather was an entrepreneur.
Team Dapez’s business plan, entitled Vermilizer, looked into the business of converting organic waste into fertiliser through the process of vermiculture as a solution to landfills and incineration.
The competition involves three rounds. In the first round, participants have been asked to submit a business idea, in no more than 1,000 words in English, that explores new market niches or addresses current market needs via the official website.
First launched in Malaysia in 2001 after its successful debut in Hong Kong in 2000, the HSBC YEA competition runs concurrently in six other countries – Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Brunei.
Open to all full-time students from public and private institutions of higher learning, HSBC YEA requires participants to form teams of no more than three, of which one member can be an international student.
Chief judge and HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd managing director for commercial banking Eddie Norton said the judges were impressed by the team’s performance.
“We looked at the strength of their business plan, the commercial viability and how the students handled themselves. Their business plan was well-written and the whole package was well put together,” he said.
Undergraduates Eric Lee and Lin Meiyi of Team Spirit bagged the Silver Award while the Bronze Award went to team Capital Youths Enterprise made up of P. Pratiban, Ronnie Chow and Boey Winson.
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