KUCHING, Jan 7: Construction of the proposed Digital Village (DV) at Sama Jaya High Tech Park here will begin sometime this month, and it will take 18 months to complete.
Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh said the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) would be involved in the project to ensure the timely delivery and success of the DV.
“We will work diligently with the contractor to complete the project before the stipulated period from today without compromising on the quality as required under the contract,” said Len Talif, who is also Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) chairman during the site handing-over ceremony today.
Under the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2025 (Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Action 38), the DV is to facilitate technology transfer and commercialisation and to accelerate the maturity of start-ups through global accelerator partnerships.
Initiatives at DV would include ‘Launch Sarawak’ (Action 39) — a programme to provide a transformative pathway to support innovation, intellectual property creation and spin-offs as well as scale-up programmes and Open Lab.
The state government, through SMA, would also set up ‘Digital Landing Pads’ (Action 40) overseas to promote Sarawak as a destination for high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship like Silicon Valley and Shanghai. It is also to encourage domestic and foreign investments.
“The DV will further expand the impact of our established startups by imbuing them with cutting-edge technology, latest research and up-to-date digital skills. It will play a significant role in establishing and developing localised knowledge in Sarawak and put Sarawakian technopreneurs and startups on the world map.
“Together with all our partners within the digital ecosystem, we know that this initiative will create success stories that will be the pride of our state and our nation,” said SMA general manager Dr Zaidi Razak.
Among those present at the site handing-over ceremony was Tegas Board of Trustees and Deputy State Secretary (Performance and Service Delivery Transformation) Datu Dr Sabariah Putit.
Tegas is also collaborating with SMA in running the SMA-Tegas Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) here, in Miri and Bintulu.
DIH serves as an inclusive avenue to nurture talents, support entrepreneurs and create innovators for Sarawak.
DIH offers access to co-working space and shared amenities, funding opportunities and facilitation, incubation and acceleration programmes as well as an entrepreneur-friendly ecosystem.
“Our mission is to provide growth opportunities for early-stage startups and to build a strong startup community across Sarawak.
“This initiative is in line with Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s agenda to increase the number of successful technopreneurs and subsequently drive the state’s digital economy,” said Len Talif. — DayakDaily
