Two Sabahan enterprises Shell LiveWIRE winners

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): Shell awarded five enterprises as grand winners of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2023 at its national awards ceremony at Wisma Shell here.

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 Southeast Asia Treasure and Grace Creation from Sabah, Pungu Borneo from Sarawak, GK Aqua and Materials in Works from Peninsular.

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 three-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. 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,” expressed Siti Sulaiman, Country Chair of Shell Malaysia and Senior Vice President, Upstream Malaysia.

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

Also present at the event was Tuan Haji Udin bin Bujang, CEO of Tabung Gagasan Ekonomi Anak Sarawak (TEGAS).

Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2023 national winners’ details are as follows:
GK Aqua founded by Giva Kuppusamy and Wan Nur Hazwani Wan Rameli, is a biotechnology company focusing on production of monosex technology of freshwater prawn. Their monosex breeding technology can produce ‘neo-female’ broodstock that produces all-male offspring, resulting in 300% increase in freshwater prawn production and 3x higher market price. https://gkaqua.com.my/

Radziah Matarsad and Siti Aishah Syazwani Sairin founded Southeast Asia Treasure to create an innovation of Seaweed “Smart Culture” tool that can reduce the death of turtles and fishes that attack seaweed farms. The “Smart Culture” tool is an environmentally friendly system that helps to improve farmers’ income in Semporna and all the areas that culture seaweed including Indonesia, Philippine, India and other seaweed countries.

Rositinah Andahang and Mainah Himbulan’s Grace Creation is a social enterprise that produces Sabah ethnic handicrafts, specifically originating from the Murut ethnic group. The company impacts the community surrounding various areas, providing jobs for the women within the area.

Chong Sen Ooi and Chee Sheng Lau’s Materials in Works (MIW) reintroduced residual paper liners into the production value chain as recovered cellulose pulp.

MIW presented a solution that both benefits the environment and addresses raw material needs of local paper manufacturers. https://www.materialsinworks.com/

Pungu Borneo founded by Lucille Anak Awen Jon and Jeremy Adam Sulaiman is a social enterprise focusing on traditional handicraft, jewellery and culture with the aim of spearheading the digitalization of the industry, preserving heritage and promoting sustainability. http://www.instagram.com/punguborneo

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 Pungu Borneo as a motivation to inspire more participation from Sarawak.

The judges for Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2023 were Lucy Loo – Head of Convenience, Retailing & Mobility, Shell Malaysia, Muhd Firdaus Azharuddin – Chief Executive Officer of Institut Keusahawanan Negara (INSKEN) and Muhamad Izawan Baharin – News Editor of Harian Metro.

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.