Fadillah (top row, sixth from left) with other dignitaries and Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2022 award winners.
FIVE enterprises were recognised as grand winners of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2022 in the national finals held at Tegas Digital Village in Kuching, Sarawak.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof was on hand to present the winners with their prizes.
The five companies were among 15 that emerged winners from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia last year.
This was Shell’s first time in running its flagship entrepreneurship development programme at a national level.
The 2022 national winners – BeeBag, manekNya, Qarbotech, Hong Xin Food and Satok Bridge Area Consulting Engineers – were among the 180 entrepreneurs who participated in Shell LiveWIRE programme.
The 15 finalists went through a week-long intensive incubator workshop in three locations, followed by a three-month LiveWIRE national accelerator programme in preparation for the final pitching competition.
The entrepreneurs were assessed based on their business presentations that demonstrated their drive to grow their ideas based on their business model, team capabilities and business traction.
“It’s truly inspiring to witness our local entrepreneurs, who are not only empowering themselves through their business ventures but also striving to create a sustainable ecosystem to uplift their surrounding communities,” said Shell Malaysia country chair and Upstream Malaysia senior vice-president Siti Sulaiman.
“Our Shell LiveWIRE programme provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect with the global LiveWIRE ecosystem, which can direct them towards further developing their businesses and contributing towards the socio-economic development of the nation, and I truly encourage our entrepreneurs to leverage on this.”
The 2022 national winners received a start-up fund of RM30,000 each and the opportunity to share their knowledge with entrepreneurs from around the world while standing a chance to compete in the annual Shell Global Top Ten Innovators Awards.
Tegas awarded an additional cash prize of RM20,000 to the winner from Sarawak, Satok Bridge Area Consulting Engineers as a motivation to inspire more participation from Sarawak.
Sarawak Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Deputy Minister and chairman of Tegas Datuk Len Talif Salleh said that Tegas was pleased to partner with Shell in delivering the Shell LiveWIRE programme for six consecutive years while working towards creating an inclusive start-up ecosystem in Sarawak.
The programme strengthens local economies across the globe by promoting entrepreneurship and developing entrepreneurs.
The programme, which started in Sabah in 2015 and in Sarawak in 2016, aims to inspire young entrepreneurs to produce business solutions that meet today’s socio-economic needs.
Shell LiveWIRE was extended to include entrepreneurs from Peninsular Malaysia in 2022.
The judges of the programme were Mobility Malaysia, Shell Trading general manager Seow Lee Ming, Tegas Digital Village and Digital Innovation Hub general manager Manzoor Hayat Khan and Borneo Post Group administrative general manager Phyllis Wong.
For details, visit livewire.shell.com.my
