Bintulu, 28 August : A total of 40 participants comprising social entrepreneurs and students of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu Campus took part in the Techstars Startup Weekend: Food Security Bintulu (SWSFB) programme at TEGAS Digital Innovation Hub (TDIH), Bintulu, from 26 to 28 August.

The programme was jointly organised by the Sarawak Children's Economic Fund (TEGAS) and UPM Bintulu Campus, in conjunction with the World Forum on Social Enterprises 2022.

"Starting with the 'open mic' session on Friday, participants presented their best ideas to inspire others to join their team," Shakinah Asniza Mortadza, TEGAS Program & Partnership Executive who is also SWSFB Organizing Chairman, said in a statement.

"Throughout Saturday and Sunday, the team focuses on customer development, validates their ideas, adopts startup methodologies and builds viable products.

"On Sunday evening the team showed their prototype and received valuable feedback from a panel of judges," he said.

Seven food safety solutions and business ideas were put forward on the last day of SWFSB.

Among the speakers and mentors for SWFSB were Prof Dr Shahrul Razid Sarbini (Director of UPM Bintulu Campus), Lavinder Singh (Head of Digital, Consultant Engineer of Satok Bridge Area Sdn Bhd), Dr Karmilah Abdullah (Senior Lecturer, UPM Bintulu), Nur Asyiqin Zaidi (Senior Lecturer, UPM Bintulu), Ts. Dr Suhaili Mustafa (Senior Lecturer upm Bintulu), Dr Chan Siaw Leng (Senior Lecturer UPM Bintulu),  Dr Sharon Ong Yong Yee (Senior Lecturer of UPM Bintulu), Dr Nurul Nadwa Zulkifli (Senior Lecturer upm Bintulu) and Dr Hanisah Kamilah Mustafa (Senior Lecturer, UPM Bintulu), Noor Hakim Bin Ahmad (Head of Administration, UPM Bintulu), Amirah Norizan (Community Manager, Comfort Works), Irfan Ismail (Independent Developer) and Dr Yasmin Yaccob (Senior Lecturer of UPM Bintulu).

Participants also had the opportunity to listen to the partnership and gain the guidance of those who are experienced in starting a business with the involvement of mentors such as Azfar Tomi (Managing Director, Moredoor Interactive Sdn. Bhd.), Mr. Lee Zhi Eng (Co-Founder, Kloena Digital Sdn. Bhd), Nisha Haslinda binti Hasbi (Founder, Bintulucoffeescape), Nehemiah Labar Ingan (Founder, Volume Research & Development Sdn Bhd), Zaidi Jamal (Taman Agro Rakan Impian) and Heineken Route (CEO,  Timogah.com),

"I'm excited to be a part of this program as a speaker and mentor. It is a great programme to inspire bintulu's start-up community. I believe Bintulu has the talent to produce high-growth startups that will contribute to Sarawak's digital economy," said Lavinder Singh, Head of Digital, Satok Bridge Area Consulting Engineers.

The judges were Prof. Dr. Shahrul Razid Sarbini (Director of UPM Bintulu Campus), Heineken Route (CEO, Timogah.com) and Fakhzan Buang (Senior Language Instructor, UPM Bintulu).

"It is inspiring to see the potential of UPM students and our startup community given the right platform and the opportunity to express themselves," said Prof. Dr. Shahrul Razid Sarbini, Director of UPM Bintulu Campus.

"Programs like Startup Weekend are one of the memorable platforms and it provides learning opportunities for participants to structure ideas to foster impactful commerce.

"We look forward to working with TEGAS again to organise more social entrepreneurship programmes in the future at the TEGAS Bintulu Digital Innovation Hub, under our Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship (YLE) initiative," he said.

Startup Weekend is a three-day programme where would-be entrepreneurs will experience and the pressures faced in shaping the life of a startup in just 54 hours.

It aims to provide a platform that allows participants to share ideas, get inspired in building something new, build business networks and find new investors to grow their business.

More information, click HERE

Date of Input: 01/09/2022 | Updated: 07/10/2022 | lanz