BY NOOR SYAHHIRA HADY & NEVILLE TIMOTHY SANDERS
KUCHING: The Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) has further amplified its market validation and commercialisation via inking various Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with industry partners.
Under the SDEC Technology Accelerator (STAcc) Programme, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus and Trienekens (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd have inked a MoU to look into collaboration on technology or market validation for the testing of technology for smart waste management.
Harden (right) visiting one of the booths at the SDEC pavilion.
Additionally, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak also exchanged a MoU with three parties, namely SiliconNet Technologies Sdn Bhd, Turn Red Supplier Sdn Bhd, and Hornbill Agriculture Sdn Bhd.
According to a statement, focusing on cashless society in rural areas, the MoU with SiliconNet Technologies delves into research development for fintech under SDEC Translational Research Grant (TRG) initiatives, while the MoU with Turn Red Supplier is on the testing of stingless bee tracking mechanisms.
Meanwhile, the collaboration with Hornbill Agriculture is centred around the testing of technology for crayfish hatchery.
Following this, SDEC also exchanged MoU with its industry partners in the fields of telemedicine, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technology.
“The MoU with iHeal Medical Centre aims to establish a mutual understanding to collaborate on deploying a telemedicine software solution with the capacity to seamlessly reach and connect the underserved rural communities within Sarawak.
Harden (sixth from left) with industry partners after the MoU exchange ceremony.
“Apart from that, SDEC and Cloud4Sea explore potential collaboration on AI based smart retail systems such as AI based vending machines.
“With Pulsy Technology, SDEC intends to collaborate on digital technology, carbon reduction, and ESG (environmental, social and governance) for various industry and economic sectors in Sarawak,” the statement said.
During the same ceremony, SDEC also announced the opening of Cohort 3 of Digital Village Accelerator (DiVA) – a flagship programme within the Sarawak Digital and Innovation Ecosystem.
Organised by SDEC, DiVA targets local startups to accelerate their growth and maturity with emphasis on increased revenue generation, market expansion, and investment potential.
“For more information on Cohort 3, visit www.diva.sarawak.digital. Interested startups may register at bit.ly/DIVACOHORT3 from Oct 6 to Dec 31, 2023.”
Commenting on the importance of the MoU exchange, SDEC chief executive officer Sudarnoto Osman said it served as a starting point and signified the willingness of each party to come together to achieve a common goal.
“SDEC is proud to announce these strategic partnerships as we continue our pursuit in digitalising the state of Sarawak. These collaborations enable the parties to leverage on each other’s skillset and work in tandem to unlock new opportunities for the benefit of our people,” he said.
He also shared that DiVA Cohort 1 and 2 saw the rise of various startups that have completed the programme and achieved success in Sarawak and beyond with some receiving further funding amounting to millions of ringgit.
“This is in line with our goal to ensure these startups are able to be launched to a bigger stage, thus benefitting the State through economic development, high skilled job creation, investments and many more,” he added.
The MoU exchange ceremony, which was held during the 27th World Congress on Innovation and Technology 2023 and the 6th International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak 2023 (WCIT | IDECS 2023) at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching here on Friday (Oct 6) was witnessed by Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development, Datuk Francis Harden Hollis; and SDEC chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani.
