KUCHING, 26 FEBRUARY 2025 – Seven innovative businesses have been selected to go through the 12-month SEHebat Catalyst 2025 programme organised by Yayasan Hasanah and Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC).
The participants recently completed the first phase of the programme called ‘Foundation Building’ where they underwent three days of intensive bootcamp at Kuching Community Social Support Centre (CSSC) from 18 to 20 February 2025.
With the objective to equip them with the knowledge and resources to carry out their projects more effectively in the coming years, they learned about best practice at project design and management, peer collaboration and resource sharing, proposal writing, impact measurement tools and framework, finance planning, and building peer support network.
Generally, the SEHebat Catalyst programme aims to provide customised business support to impactful businesses and social enterprises in Sarawak in the form of mentorship, facilitated partnership, industry and market access, and digitalisation assistance. Selected projects also receive grant from the Ministry of Finance through Yayasan Hasanah to further support their impact-making activities.
The bigger goal of the programme is to foster local talent, capacity, and capability of Sarawak entrepreneurs at delivering positive social or environmental impact to the local community through their innovative business model, directly promoting MSME’s contribution to the region’s PCDS 2030 goals which are economic prosperity, social inclusivity, and environmental sustainability.
The selected social enterprises are Signs and Wonders Sdn Bhd, Heart Treasures Sdn Bhd, H.M Success Company, Landik PLT, Teduh Jiwa Counseling and Consultancy, Borsa Food Sdn Bhd, and Illustrato Studio.
Through the NeuroSpark project, Signs and Wonders founded by Teo Siew Kheng champions inclusive learning for all children particularly neurodivergent children, making learning engaging, accessible, and fun. An impact and value-driven social enterprise, Heart Treasures by Kiew Boon Siew provides a ‘dignity-for-life’ transformation by providing therapeutic and skill development platforms to youth with unique abilities with the goal to help them lead an independent and fulfilling life.
Founded by Hamidah Mokhtar, H.M Success Company is committed to sustainable wood engraving and repurposing wood waste into eco-friendly products. Through the SEHebat Catalyst programme, the company launches the Wood Waste Management Plan, an initiative that transforms discarded wood into high-value, sustainable products while creating employment opportunities for single mothers in the rural area of Sebuyau, Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Mandy Chen Wei Xing from Landik works with senior citizens in Sarawak to keep traditional crafts alive while providing an avenue for them to earn an income. Through this programme, Landik intends to train more senior citizens, giving them a chance to learn new skills, stay active, and support themselves financially.
Dedicated to providing accessible and inclusive psychological support, particularly for the marginalised communities, Teduh Jiwa’s flagship project, WeNDI (Wellbeing Empowerment and Nurture Diverse Individuals), aims to enhance self-awareness, resilience, and employability by integrating AI-driven tools with community-based interventions. Teduh Jiwa is founded by Anis Wahida binti Amran.
Borsa Food’s YourgutBB Kuching, founded by Ang Tse Chwan, prioritises sustainability in socio-economics, environmental impact, and well-being. Through its year-long Sustainable Apprenticeship Programme, they aim to equip participants with ESG-integrated food and beverages (F&B) skills, hands-on experience, and mentorship, empowering them to lead sustainable food ventures.
Illustrato Studio, led by Nur Masradibah binti Materang, is a Sarawak-based creative agency dedicated to nurture local creative talents through cultural preservation and local creative products development. The SEHebat Catalyst programme will provide a platform for empowering Sarawakian creatives with opportunities, tools, and sustainable development strategy through local creative initiatives.
Interested agencies and organisations that would like to work with these social enterprises to help them deliver their social and environmental mission across Sarawak can email to ied@sdec.com.my.
For more information about SDEC’s digitalisation programmes, follow its WhatsApp channel at bit.ly/kamekdigital.