KOTA KINABALU: Two Sabah teams will compete against the nation’s best in DiGi’s Challenge for Change contest next year after winning the state-level competition here recently.
Team Eco-Tech and Team Grand Ladies ousted 21 other participating teams at Universiti Malaysia Sabah to claim their places in the finals of the contest, which encourages entrepreneurship and empowerment through connectivity, next March.
Held by telco DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (DiGi), the competition invites student teams from public and private universities to develop social ventures for underserved communities through the use of mobile and Internet technologies with the goal of enhancing and connecting the lives of all Malaysians.
Each winning team will be given RM1,000 in seed money and DiGi’s Internet package to develop their proposed solutions for the national finals where over RM200,000 worth of prizes are waiting to be won.
Team Eco-Tech wooed judges with their innovative idea of recycling leftover food from restaurants around the city in order to convert them into garbage enzyme (a natural detergent made through fermenting leftover food by adding sugar and water) and then selling it back to the same restaurants as replacement for industrial chemical dishwashing liquids.
“We hope to encourage other businesses and homes to turn to this eco-friendlier solution,” said Gan Siaw Chin of Team Eco-Tech.
He said the competition was intense especially when working against the clock.
Equally delighted to come out tops, Team Grand Ladies worked hard to conceptualise and build an entire business case by carrying out exhaustive surveys among potential customers and non-governmental organisations in order to validate their project.
“Our idea and business is called NS Patchwork. Our plan is to collect all wasted off-cut textiles from clothes factories and even discarded clothes and convert them into beautiful patchwork quilts and coverlets.
“We want to engage single mothers in Kota Kinabalu who do not have a steady income,” said team leader Nurdiana bte Jauny. They also added a webpage to feature their products.
“Students will gain valuable mentoring and practical experience while cultivating entrepreneurial skills from DiGi and other industry experts,” said Sabah DiGi head Ng Chak Kin.
“We hope to nurture well-rounded future leaders. We are using our core competencies and strengths to help drive Malaysia transform into a high-income nation.”
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