KUCHING: Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (Tegas) welcomed six social enterprises to its first batch of Social Impact Accelerator (SIA).
It is a six-month programme which aims to accelerate the growth of Sarawak-based, early-stage social enterprises (SE) in order to effectively deliver good to great impact for Sarawak and beyond.
The accelerator programme is organised in line with the Sarawak government’s mission to increase the number of successful social businesses and promote social innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.
Six outstanding SEs from Kuching, Bintulu, Miri and Long Nen have been selected for the first batch of SIA. These include Pungu Borneo, Jonita Enterprise, EdaBeran, SupaReaders, Foodster King and Timogah.
They will enjoy coaching and mentoring by seasoned entrepreneurs and industry experts, access to grants and funding, access to SMA-Tegas Digital Innovation Hub (KCH, BTU, MYY) and Escape by Etiqa Innovation Hub (KL) as well as access to Sarawak Digital Ecosystem (SDE) network.
The programme will run from October 2020 until March 2021, in partnership with Youth Trust Foundation (myHarapan), Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), and Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) and is one of the key programmes in SDE.
Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Assistant Minister cum Tegas chairman Datuk Len Talif Salleh expressed his delight on joining forces with Youth Trust Foundation and work towards creating a vibrant social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Sarawak.
“SIA is our investment to grow our local social enterprises and scale their impact,” he said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 3).
In line with the extension of the recovery movement control order (RMCO), SMA-Tegas Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) is extending its free co-working pass until Dec 31 to help Sarawakian startups and social enterprises affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are also offering support for entrepreneurs on a regular basis via free webinars, online capacity building workshops and venture acceleration programmes as well as access to experienced mentors via FutureLab (online mentoring platform),” added Len.
