Sabahan SMEs shine at Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2024

KOTA KINABALU (Aug 11): Shell has awarded five enterprises as the state winners of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2024, following the finals earlier in July at Plaza Shell in Kota Kinabalu.

This year marks a decade of Shell’s dedication towards nurturing Sabahan entrepreneurs through its entrepreneurship development initiative.

“It’s truly inspiring to witness our Sabahan entrepreneurs harnessing their skills and digital capabilities not only to expand their businesses but also to uplift their communities and enhance employability,” shared Wong Kim Mun, general manager of Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd (SSPC).

“Through our LiveWIRE initiative, entrepreneurs can gain access to a global ecosystem that can accelerate their business growth and drive socio-economic progress in our nation.

“I encourage our entrepreneurs to seize the opportunities offered by Shell LiveWIRE to make a lasting impact.”

The judges for Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2024 Sabah state finals were Viviantie Sarjuni CEO of Sabah Creative Economy and Innovation Centre (SCENIC); Dato Sardahthisa James, Chief Editor of Daily Express and Gerard Lopez, Supply Chain Commercial Manager, SSPC.

Shell LiveWIRE serves as Shell’s flagship enterprise development programme, dedicated to enhancing local economies globally through the promotion of entrepreneurship and support for entrepreneurs.

Launched in Sabah in 2015 and expanded to Sarawak in 2016, the programme aims to inspire young entrepreneurs to innovate and create viable business solutions that address current socio-economic needs.

Starting in 2022, Shell LiveWIRE has been extended to include entrepreneurs from Peninsular Malaysia, further expanding its reach and impact.

The 2024 Sabah state winners are Mofaz Enterprise, Global Cerah Sdn Bhd, Kokoriu Enterprise, Agroment Enterprise and Onsoi Manufacturing Sdn Bhd.

Each participant of this programme took part in an intensive bootcamp, leading to the selection of 10 finalists who advanced to the final pitching competition.

During this stage, the entrepreneurs were assessed on their business pitches, demonstrating their dedication to refining their business ideas with detailed business plans. Ultimately, five winners emerged from this process.

The five winning enterprises received a startup fund of RM10,000.00 each from Shell. They will also benefit from a year of business coaching aimed at refining their business plans and turning them into thriving ventures.

Moreover, the winners will gain access to the global LiveWIRE network, where they can share their insights with entrepreneurs worldwide, while standing a chance to participate in the annual Shell Global Top Ten Innovators Awards.

From waste to briquettes: Providing sustainable options for oil palm waste

Agroment Enterprise is one of the winners of this year’s Sabah Shell LiveWIRE, focussing on Tangud Briquette which is currently in the prototype stage towards developing oil palm frond briquettes.

This eco-friendly alternative fuel source is made from agricultural waste, aiming to provide a sustainable energy solution.

“Tangud Briquette was established in September 2023, and we are dedicated to advancing our product to contribute to environmental sustainability, efficient resource utilisation and new income streams for oil palm smallholder farmers.

“The inspiration behind pursuing this business comes from the abundance of oil palm fronds in my hometown of Sandakan, Sabah,” said its founder Carlven Lenim to The Borneo Post.

“I saw an opportunity to utilise these otherwise underused agricultural residues to create a sustainable and eco-friendly fuel source.

“Additionally, I wanted to provide a new income stream for my community, especially for the smallholder oil palm farmers who have been facing challenges due to the rising prices of herbicides and fertilisers for their plantations.

“By converting oil palm fronds into briquettes, we aim to support the local economy and offer a practical solution to these pressing issues.”

Carlven first heard about Shell LiveWIRE through friends I met at PitchBorneo, a business pitching competition organised by the Sabah Techpreneur Association (SATA). Many of these friends are former participants in Shell LiveWIRE and shared their positive experiences with me.

“My journey with Shell LiveWIRE has had a significant impact on my business. I gained valuable insights into business development and sustainable practices.

“The mentorship and training programs provided by the Satu Creative team have helped me refine my business model and improve our prototype. It gave Tangud Briquette a stronger foundation to grow and succeed.

“This experience has been instrumental in transforming our vision into a tangible and promising venture.”

After winning the competition, Carlven aims to scale up production and improve the efficiency of his briquetting process. He also plans to promote the use of eco-friendly briquettes as an alternative energy source.

“Additionally, we are committed to continuous innovation, exploring new ways to enhance the quality and performance of our briquettes.

“We will also focus on building strong partnerships with smallholder farmers to support the local economy.
“Furthermore, we intend to invest in community education and awareness programmes to highlight the environmental and economic benefits of using oil palm frond briquettes.

“By doing so, we hope to drive widespread adoption and contribute to a more sustainable future.

“Overall, our vision is to establish Tangud Briquette as a leading provider of sustainable energy solutions while positively impacting the environment and the communities we serve.”

Asked on what was his biggest lesson learnt along the journey, Carlven underscored the importance of resilience and adaptability.

“Starting a new business, especially in a niche area like oil palm frond briquettes, comes with numerous challenges and uncertainties.

“There were times when setbacks seemed overwhelming, but staying resilient and maintaining a positive outlook helped me push through the difficulties.

“This journey has taught me that success is not just about having a great idea but also about being persistent, learning from failures, and being flexible.”

Going cleaner towards a sustainable future

Managing organic waste and going green may not be two concepts commonly put together, but this was exactly the winning idea that led to Global Cerah Sdn Bhd (Global Cerah) founder Willie Ng’s success.

Global Cerah is a cleantech startup that integrates organic waste management and production of alternative feeds and fertilisers into a sustainable solution supported by Internet of Things (IoT).

“We started our research and development back in 2018 with the funding back-up by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) before commercialising the solution in 2021,” he explained.

“We were inspired to do this business to advocate and replace conventional waste disposal methods such as landfills that cause soil degradation and emission of greenhouse gas from dumping sites, a major factor of climate change.

“Moreover, I also want to recycle agriwaste into valuable feeds and fertilisers that are essential for local farmers due to rising prices of imported products.”

Having been actively participating and involved in several accelerator programmes and competitions from time to time, Ng learnt about Shell Livewire from his fellow peers.

“The practical training and mentorships from Shell LiveWIRE enhanced my current skill set to look into my current business model, in addition to a mindset shift for me as a founder to focus on human capital development and resource management.

“These are important impacts for me to develop the growth of Global Cerah in the near future.”

Among some of the challenges faced by Ng in running Global Cerah includes cash flow problems due to low awareness on the importance of waste treatment in the agriculture industry and the high system operation costs.

“This is why I decided to sell recycled feeds and fertilisers from our system to overseas markets, who are willing to pay a premium on those high-nutrition products.

“I also apply technology sharing models with foreign counterparts Indonesia and Philippines to expand markets in the region which allow us to obtain a consistent supply of raw materials (waste) for our production.”

Beyond the LiveWIRE competition, Ng plans to obtain R&D grants/funds for upgrades of the second-generation system from the current version, improvement of compatibility, efficiency and addition of ERP features.

“Secondly, we plan to expand our market into Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia via licensing in order to share our solution across the Southeast Asia region and ultimately to become a regional circular economy with a value supply chain for waste management and production of alternative proteins.”

He said finding the balance between purpose, people and profitability was crucial to starting an impact startup to expand positive impacts in the long-term future.

“Without a sustainable business model, the business cannot survive and meet goals regardless of how good the initiative is,” he advised new entrepreneurs.

“Be enterprising by optimising the successful pursuit of opportunity.

“These include a passion for solving problems worth solving a willingness to test assumptions and change course, and a relentless desire to create shared value in a high-paced and dynamic working environment from time to time.”

Creating Sabah’s own heirloom organic seed bank for sustainability

Anjelen Daransun started her business journey by innovating Sabah-based agricultural products like bananas, pumpkins, chili padi, tuhau, kantan, ginger, lemongrass and cinnamon as a way to add value to farmers’ agricultural products.

Her venture, Kokoriu Enterprise, seeks to add value to these products so that the farming community can increase their income by diversifying and adding value to conventionally available produce, allow it to be marketed more widely since 2015 and sell the product through friends and have not yet registered a business.

“Kokoriu means supplies that are eaten when hungry and that are always taken everywhere to avoid hunger – farm supplies, travel supplies or even supplies to go to work.

“It was chosen because it fits the business mission to provide the best service to customers to ensure they get and always have supplies when needed,” she enthused.

“My business involves selling processed agricultural products, or fresh and organic agricultural products based on native plants and selling native plants and heirloom seeds such as cinnamon, tuhau, kantan and local spices such as pagaga, bawing, coriander seeds, java and so on.

“I come from a farming family and live with a farming community. Getting the inspiration to start this began with my late mother who used to collect, care for, preserve and reuse heirloom seeds that were selected of various varieties for the next planting cycle.

“She was not worried about not having a supply of seeds and not having the next agricultural crop; instead it is the practice to provide sustainable income.”

Anjelen said this was still practiced by her family to this day. From this, she was inspired to create her own seed bank based on heirloom organic seeds so that local farmers, commercial agriculture, home gardeners, and even agriculture companies do not need to depend on seeds from beyond the country.

“This is so that we in Malaysia, especially Sabah, have our own source of seeds for the nation’s food security,” she said.

“In 2023, I started an initiative to create an heirloom organic seed bank in Kampung Tiong Karanaan as an effort to conserve and plant local seeds that are rare and almost extinct, as well as seeds that are always in demand by farmers.

“This is done based on complaints from farmers who depend on imported seeds to carry out agricultural activities.

“They often complain that it is difficult to get seeds, expensive and the seeds purchased will not provide good seeds for the next crop after harvesting – this causes them to always buy seeds every planting season.”

She thus started a business with training in storage, selection and planting as well as self-breeding of seeds in the Tiong Karanaan village community.

“It really helped the community during the week-long boot camp, we as participants were exposed to a variety of knowledge, motivation and to making our ideas tangible. And we are also taught to see the value of the business we will run,” she said.

“The future plan is to make Tangkob Sayat Kokoriu a centre to obtain heirloom organic seeds, collaborate with agencies or governments that can realise and recognise the creation of an heirloom organic seed bank.”

Revolutionising paddy farming within greenhouses

Mofaz Enterprise, founded by Mohd Fadzwan Ali, is a social enterprise that helps dry land paddy farmers in the Ranau district to sell their products to bigger markets.

Produgin Meridi Rice — an heirloom rice from Kampung Meridi, Ranau — this venture involves 30 skilled hill paddy farmers and uses the fertigation system in a greenhouse.

Since 2021, they’ve marketed high-quality rice in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia, promoting organic farming and supporting local farmers.

“We began working on this project back in 2020 and starting last year, we are utilising a new and modern system — we are now planting paddy in green houses, in polybags with irrigation systems.

“This way, we can produce fully organic and premium rice,” he enthused to The Borneo Post.

The budding entrepreneur expressed his confidence in joining Sabah Shell LiveWIRE, having no qualms in front of the judges to pitch his idea.

“To be honest, I am more confident to go to the front and pitch after this programme. This programme also gives awareness on my project and product.

“People start to ask what is Beras Meridi? What are they doing? How can we get this rice?”

When asked what his biggest challenge was, Fadzwan said it was the perception of his image.

“My biggest challenge is that people see me as a farmer and not as an entrepreneur. You know, our society has a negative perception towards farmers. They think that they are dirty, poor, contemptuous and have no future.

“They forget that human civilisation began with agriculture. What they eat on tables today comes from farmers’ hands.

“How do I overcome this? I go out, seek knowledge, skill, and network with others. I learn from experienced farmers, technology and modern farming ways.”

Beyond this, Fadzwan plans to build more greenhouses in order to elevate the output of paddy and rice, thus helping more farmers to increase their income.

“We are also in the process of applying for myGAP and myOrganic certification from Jabatan Pertanian so we can enter the organic and premium market.

“I want to make sure that two years from now, our products can not only sell in Sabah, but also can reach the Peninsula market.”

On his biggest takeaway from his entrepreneurial journey, Fadzwan gave the tale of king cobra and python story.

“That is how people destroy each other, because they are always boasting and feeling that they are the best and more powerful than others.

“Then relationships and friendships are broken, families fall apart and finally thrown away. Worsening the situation, some other people who are arrogant, poison the mind with gossip, slander, envy, envy full of deceit so that they stab each other.

“Bleeding a sane mind becomes restless and loses wisdom.

“My advice for entrepreneurs out there: learn from others’ failures and mistakes, not just from the successes.

“There are so many sides behind the full story. So, learn from people’s failures and mistakes so you will know how to deal with the situation.”

Tenom coffee driven by passion and ambition

Sharon Voo’s early start in life led her to form Onsoi Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (Onsui), which produces ready-to-drink Tenom coffee.

Voo said she follows in the footsteps of her father who is a successful businessman.

“Probably influenced by him, my ambition since young was to become a successful businesswoman.

“My first ‘small business’ was selling candles, mineral water, tissue paper at graveyards during the QingMing festival when Chinese folk would visit and clean the graves of their ancestors.

“Thinking back, I am still satisfied with those first experiences. It is not because of the money that I made, but the process of making that happened including borrowing money from my parents; purchasing stocks; waking up at 4am to prepare; handling customers; and all the obstacles I overcame that made it meaningful to me.”

Voo said her venture with Tenom coffee highlights the lack of preservatives or artificial additions, making it a truly natural ready-to-drink product.

“We started this during the pandemic in 2020 from a crisis to a business opportunity,” she explained. “I pursued this current business idea because I am doing what I love while promoting my hometown’s name and coffee.”

Voo said joining Sabah Shell LiveWIRE was the launchpad she needed towards the next step.

“The great impact of joining Shell LiveWIRE is unexpected. First, I gained on-the-ground knowledge from coaches. Secondly, I got to know a lot of new friends with the same mindset and drive as myself.

“Thirdly, our brand is gaining traction after this, and I have more confidence to move on. I really appreciate this opportunity, and really thank everyone behind Shell LiveWIRE.”

Her biggest challenge is “the distance between my head to my feet”, meaning how to turn her vision into action and make it come true.

“To overcome this, I cut my big dream into small pieces: from a 10-year plan down to 1-year plan, to 1-month plan, to 1-week plan and to 1-day plan,” she detailed.

Her future business goals in the short-term period are to upgrade Onsoi Manufacturing’s factory and purchase more machines to increase daily production.

“Next year, we would like to expand the business to the whole Sabah,” she enthused.