Sarawakian craftsmaker among national winners for Shell LiveWIRE 2023

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 5): A Sarawakian craftsmaker was among five enterprises who became grand winners of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2023 at its national awards ceremony held on Monday.

The event was officiated by Datuk Ewon Benedick, Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives of Malaysia, who also presented the winners their prizes.

Also present at the event was Udin Bujang, chief executive officer of Tabung Gagasan Ekonomi Anak Sarawak (TEGAS). The five winning enterprises were among 15 finalist enterprises that emerged state winners of Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, earlier this year.

The 2023 national winners were GK Aqua, Southeast Asia Treasure, Grace Creation, Materials in Works and Pungu Borneo.

These enterprises were a part of the 15 finalists who were selected from 180 entrepreneurs who participated in this year’s Shell LiveWIRE programme.

These finalists went through a week-long intensive incubator workshop in three locations, followed by a 3-month LiveWIRE national accelerator programme in preparation towards the final pitching competition. Assessments were done based on the finalists’ business pitches that demonstrate their drive to grow their business ideas based on their comprehensive business model, team capabilities, and business traction.

“Our Shell LiveWIRE programme makes a positive social impact on communities, while contributing to local business development, job creation, and innovative social and economic solutions. E

“Each year, this programme supports thousands of entrepreneurs globally to turn their bright ideas into sustainable businesses and I am truly happy to see our local entrepreneurs leveraging this to not only develop their businesses, but to also uplift their communities through employment opportunities,” said Siti Sulaiman, Country Chair of Shell Malaysia and Senior Vice President, Upstream Malaysia.

The 2023 national winners received a start-up fund of RM30,000 each and 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.

TEGAS awarded an additional cash prize of RM20,000 to the winner from Sarawak, Pungu Borneo as a motivation to inspire more participation from Sarawak.

Shell LiveWIRE is the flagship enterprise development programme of Shell. The programme strengthens local economies across the globe by promoting entrepreneurship and developing entrepreneurs.

This programme, which kick started in Sabah in 2015 and in Sarawak in 2016 aims to inspire young entrepreneurs to innovate and produce real business solutions that meet today’s socio-economic needs.

Starting from 2022, Shell LiveWIRE was extended to include entrepreneurs from Peninsular Malaysia.