An all-women finish for the 2017 Sabah Shell LiveWIRE programme

Oct 07, 2017

The 2017 Sabah LiveWIRE Programme came to a close with the introduction of a pitching competition. The results from the judges revealed that the 5 winning entrepreneurs were all self-made businesswomen.

winners of Shell livewire 2017 in Malaysia

The winners and the judges from the 2017 Shell LiveWIRE Sabah Pitching Competition.

Kota Kinabalu – As the Shell LiveWIRE programme enters its third year in Sabah, Shell has introduced a new and more competitive element that will hopefully give young entrepreneurs a taste of the real business world.

After a rigorous business model assessment competition, held live during the Shell LiveWIRE 2017 Pitching Workshop in Plaza Shell, five young Sabahans businesswomen today successfully emerged as winners of Shell LiveWIRE2017 programme.

These winning entrepreneurs will each receive start-up funding of RM10,000 and support from Shell LiveWIRE facilitators for the next three years to help them navigate around the learnings of starting a business.

However, as a pre-condition to actually obtaining the once-off funding, they will have to officially incorporate their businesses, finalise their business plans and models, and begin marketing their products and services.

Previously, participants attend business modelling and canvassing workshops to develop, present, and improve on their business ideas. After which, they would submit their refined business plans to a selection committee whom will assess the business plans based on originality and sustainability of the idea.

This time, participants were required to actively pitch to a panel of judges that consist of business leaders and senior managers from the public and private sectors.

“The purpose of this competitive model is to inculcate a tenacious and results-driven mindset among young entrepreneurs. Everyone begins with an idea and Shell has provided funding and support to bring these ideas to life. But true success is measured by how these entrepreneurs grow that idea and sustain it independently,” said Puan Zaiton Bakri, Group Manager of Pusat Kraftangan Sabah, Yayasan Sabah, who served as one of the judges.

The other judges include Danny Murshidi, Wells Reservoir Facilities Management, Sabah Shell Petroleum Company and Ariff Shahbudin, District Manager, Retail-East Malaysia, Shell Timur Sdn Bhd. All judges bring their perspectives on business and project management, based on experiences in their respective areas of responsibilities and the industry they represent. Collectively, they aim to impart knowledge on the current market forces to help equip the entrepreneurs to be able to succeed in their respective businesses.

One of the more highly successful Shell LiveWIRE participants hailing from Sabah is Rahmawati Syamsulhadi of Ateiess Cookies. Being a winner of the 2016 Shell LiveWIRE programmeme, the initial seed grant of RM10,000.00 was used to purchase additional ovens to increase her production capacity. Since then, under the tutelage of Shell LiveWIRE facilitators, she has managed to gain financial and exposure support from governmental agencies who promote home-grown cottage industries.

After witnessing Rahmawati’s journey and realizing that past participants would also proactively seek out support and resources beyond what is provided in the Shell LiveWIRE programme, the company decided to include external business leaders to be part of the judging panel.

“There is so much potential in Sabah and we’re always amazed with the ideas that our Sabahan youths bring to the table. It really shows how visionary and eager they are to learn, seek guidance, and give back. What’s truly impressive is the confidence they have for their business ideas that will contribute to Sabah’s growth – whether through community empowerment, environmental sustainability, or economic development. We consider it a privilege to be able to be part of the vision that these youths are charting and leading for the state,” said Ian Lim, General Manager of Sabah Shell Petroleum Company.

Shell LiveWIRE is an entrepreneurial programme that seeks to uncover business start-up potential in Sabah and Sarawak, supporting and inspiring young entrepreneurs to innovate and provide real business solutions that meets today’s socio-economic needs.

The programme was first introduced in Sabah in 2015. Since then, a total of 197 participants between the ages of 18 to 35 have participated in the Sabah Shell LiveWIRE programme. The winners of the 2017 Shell LiveWIRE programme bring the total number of winners to 13, who have received the seed grant and will continue to enjoy the benefits of learning from our experienced facilitators.

“It has been a wonderful and eye opening journey with Shell LiveWIRE. I never thought my small idea could have such a potential and now with Shell LiveWIRE. I am truly grateful for this experience and thankful for Shell who has continuously invested in building talent in Sabah to equip the future generation of Sabah,” said Sariyaman binti Sabur of De’SR Resepi, who manufactures tapioca products under the brand PADAidi.

“It was a lot of hardwork throughout the programme. But what really pushed me was to build confidence to present to an experienced panel of people in the business. They have so much knowledge and I’m eager to learn more from my mentors. I’m confident the wisdom they impart will not just help me with my business idea, but also for the community I belong to,” said Eva Tan Kim Yen of HY Enterprise, who won the grant with her product, Fun Noodle.

For further Media Enquiries, please contact:

Nimmi Kamal
Country Head of External Relations, Shell Malaysia
Email: nimmi.kamal@shell.com

About Shell – www.shell.com.my

Shell is a global leader in power, energy, and gas technology and is working to meet increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, infrastructure, and by developing new energy sources while addressing the impact on the environment. Malaysia is one of Shell’s heartlands. The history of Royal Dutch Shell in Malaysia started more than 125 years in Miri, Sarawak. Shell currently has a strong market presence in the upstream and downstream sector in Malaysia.

Notes to Editors:

About Shell LiveWIRE

The Shell Malaysia LiveWIRE programme consists of workshops aimed at equipping youth entrepreneurs of Sabah and Sarawak to unleash their entrepreneurial potential. These workshops include:

  • Bright Ideas – The first workshop which develops entrepreneurs’ understanding of the local market and helps them generate business ideas with the highest potential in Malaysia.
  • Become a Successful Owner Manager (BSOM). Aimed at refining the business ideas of individual entrepreneurs, this workshop ensures that participants can develop a robust plan to develop their respective businesses.
  • Masterclasses – Dedicated sessions open to all members of the LiveWIRE programme to develop specific concepts or skills relevant to their businesses, such as Branding and Marketing, Supply Chain Management, etc. Pitching workshop and competition – The latest addition to the Shell Malaysia LiveWIRE repertoire of workshops, the pitching workshop and competition aims to provide the necessary skills for leading entrepreneurs to seek support from private and public sectors to grow their businesses.

The five recipients of the seed grant from Sabah are:

Name of recipient Business description
Aisyah Aqilah Through her research, Aisyah has found a way to process coconuts into a wider variety of consumer products, including desserts, supplements, and fresh coconut under the brand of Healthy Buko Pandan.
Anis Nadia Hailing from Kota Belud, Anis intends to establish a agro-tourism facility that not only provides a wide variety of fruits for her to make juices under the FruitJoey brand, but also to create a bigger tourist attraction from the thousands of tourists that travel through Kota Belud.
Eva Tan Kim Yen Using the knowledge from her family’s business of manufacturing noodles, Eva has developed Fun Noodle; that have fruits and vegetables embedded into the flour, creating vibrantly colored noodles that are nutritious and fun.
Sariyaman Sabur Sari, upon discovering that the community of Kunak have excess tapioca production, has ventured into contract farming with the community and has developed tapioca nuggets and other products under the brand of PADAidi.
Zurainizam Osman As a mother of two, Zurainizam is aware of the challenges faced by breastfeeding mothers. Through her established cookie baking business, she married her experiences to develop cookies that stimulate lactation for the benefit of breastfeeding mothers and their babies.