By DayakDaily Team
KUALA LUMPUR, July 12: SEEd.Lab, or Social Enterprise Education Laboratory – an incubator programme powered by PETRONAS and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – unveiled seven social ventures from its third cohort at its Open Day, which was held at Petrosains, The Discovery Centre from July 11 until 13.
In a media release today, PETRONAS highlighted that this Open Day is a platform for the programme’s participants, dubbed SEEd.lings, to showcase their ideas for social change while seeking feedback and support from industry leaders and ecosystem players.
SEEd.Lab head Aidonna Jun Ayub said that SEEd.Lab is a testament to PETRONAS’ commitment to creating shared value for our stakeholders and society at large.
“This programme stands as a beacon of our commitment, where we harness our capabilities and networks to support and nurture these young social entrepreneurs. Their innovative and impactful solutions are vital for the communities they serve. We believe making positive changes in the community is a collective effort, and SEEd.Lab is an active participant in this endeavour.
“We have witnessed the growth of SEEd.lings from the first two cohorts which have impacted close to 22,000 lives collectively, and we look forward to nurturing the potential of the third cohort in their journey in bringing ideas to fruition to create meaningful change in the community,” she added.
The seven social ventures making their debut at the Open Day are Quinterra, a closed-loop sustainable farming system that transforms food waste into fish feed and farming healthy fish and vegetables; Sage, empowering financially vulnerable women through co-creation of handcrafted busybooks for children; Aqufish, empowering aquaculture farmers with affordable technology to optimise feed and accelerate fish growth; Learnardo, enhancing STEM education through interactive, game-based learning experiences for children; SebijiHub, a reward based crowdfunding platform for smallholder farmers to have equal access to capital; ArtsProud, art-based activities tailored to meet the unique needs of seniors and elderly with dementia; and ProLadang, a digital crop monitoring tool that empowers farmers to make informed decisions.
As the main drivers behind SEEd.Lab, PETRONAS and TCS contribute their resources to accelerate the journey of these social enterprises by providing business and leadership mentoring, technical expertise for solution development, funding for solutions, market testing and commercialisation, among others.
The graduates from the programme will then continue to have access to the support system built within their time in SEEd.Lab.
PETRONAS executive vice president and chief executive officer of Downstream, Datuk Sazali Hamzah said, “As we open the doors to SEEd.Lab’s latest ideas and innovations through new ventures, we are reminded of the power of entrepreneurship that can be a catalyst for social change.”
“I am proud to support this initiative by harnessing our capabilities and networks and welcome collaborations with those that share our vision to cultivate sustainable social enterprises capable of creating significant impact,” he added.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Malaysia Country head Jeevan Rajoo expressed pride in partnering SEEd.Lab and PETRONAS in an inspiring initiative that aligns seamlessly with their unwavering commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
“By fostering innovation and sustainability, SEEd.Lab not only nurtures the next generation of visionary entrepreneurs but also tackles some of the most pressing global challenges of our time. Our support for Malaysian start-ups dedicated to social enterprises highlights our deep belief in the transformative power of business to drive positive change and create a brighter, more sustainable future for all.”
SEEd.Lab is supported by a network of partners in Cohort 3, who offer their expertise, guidance and resources to the SEEd.lings. These partners are Taylor’s University, Malaysian Humanitarian Foundation, Manggis Group, Korn Ferry, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, AmBank Group, Digital Impact Square, Zaid Ibrahim & Co, Amazon Web Services, Axiata Foundation and Zharif Nizamuddin.
SEEd.Lab is the country’s first 12-to 18-month incubation programme which incorporates an end-to-end journey that spans over the essential stages of a start-up’s growth. It is modelled around the TCS Digital Impact Square (DiSQ), an open social innovation centre that encourages innovation using digital technologies to address social challenges prevalent in the community and customised to address the needs of communities in Malaysia. — DayakDaily
