SIBU, Oct 29: Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (TEGAS) through its Digital Village and Digital Innovation Hub welcomes five social enterprises to the second batch of the TEGAS Social Impact Accelerator (SIA) programme.
In a statement, it said the top five social enterprises namely, Urban Jungle, WAT Academy (M) Sdn Bhd, Amogha Tech Sdn Bhd, Achim Enterprise and D.Goods Product Enterprise had undergone a series of masterclasses since September 2021 and participated in a virtual demo day on Oct 23 with five other social entrepreneurs from all over Sarawak.
Three out of the five selected social enterprises were also alumni of the recent TEGAS Pre-Accelerator Bootcamp 2021 and TEGAS Youth Founder Mentoring Programme 2021.
“In line with the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2022, SIA is organized to promote social innovation and entrepreneurship in the State. In partnership with TEGAS ecosystem partner, Me.reka, the programme aims to accelerate the growth of early-stage social enterprises and businesses in Sarawak,” it said.
Me.reka was a 21st-century innovative education social enterprise that provides capacity building programmes to youth, budding entrepreneurs, and impact organisations.
The 6-month programme which will run from November 2021 to April 2022 will equip collective knowledge, skills, and resources to curate a highly engaging experience to nurture an entrepreneurial spirit among Sarawakian businesses.
Through SIA, the social entrepreneurs will benefit from a total pot of RM35,000 in grant funding; mentorship and access to investor network; six-month access to TEGAS Digital Innovation Hubs in Kuching, Bintulu and Miri, and Me.reka Maker Space in Kuala Lumpur; six-month access to FutureLab’s online mentorship platform; scholarships for Digital Marketing Institute’s online professional certification course; and green lane to participate in the TEGAS Digital Village scale-up programme.
“TEGAS Social Impact Accelerator programme merges the learnings of the future digital economies, with the entrepreneurial and impact creation mindset required for Sarawakians to establish their social businesses,” said TEGAS chairman Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh, who is also Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment.
“Previously, through the programme, we have supported five social enterprises and businesses from Kuching, Miri and Baram (Long Nen), by providing them access to mentors, investors, and ecosystem partners as well as free access to our TEGAS Digital Innovation Hub in Kuching, Bintulu and Miri. These include Pungu Borneo, Jonita Enterprise, EdaBeran, SupaReaders, and Timogah.” he added.
“Through this intensive programme, selected social enterprises will receive bi-weekly mentorship sessions over six months, support that will allow them access to markets, talents and capital,” said Rashvin Pal Singh, the group Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Biji-Biji Initiative and Me.reka.
SIA is open to social enterprises and businesses registered under SSM (or other recognized registration body) with at least 51% Sarawakian shareholding or one Sarawakian co-founder, in operation for at least 6 months and not more than 5 years with proof of traction in the form of revenue or customer acquisition.
For more enquiries, TEGAS manager for communication and external relation, Afida Khasuma Zaidi can be contacted at afidazaidi@tegas.org.my. — DayakDaily
