Getting students to deep dive into entrepreneurship

SME Bank Y-Biz Challenge has provided more than 2,000 students the opportunity to learn the nuts and bolts of running a business

By HABHAJAN SINGH

More than 2,000 students from 522 schools nationwide have benefitted from a competition organised by Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Bhd (SME Bank) intended to spur the young into entrepreneurship.

Since its launch in 2012, the SME Bank Y-Biz Challenge participants have raised more than RM500,000 from pro- ducts cobbled together in the course of the competition.

At least 10 of the participating schools have managed to sell their products locally and abroad.

Among the successful products is the E-Pro Buster, a pest-repellant solution by Madrasah Idrisiah, an Islamic school in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, with a sales record of RM300,000 between 2015 and 2016.

SME Bank CEO Aria Putera Ismail said the bank has carved a pathway for the students by giving them an opportunity to operate their businesses.

“We hope that there are other agencies out there who will be able to realise the commercial value and match them with the investors for startup companies,” he said in a statement.

The sixth edition of the challenge has attracted 209 participants from 113 schools nationwide, making it the largest pool of contestants since its inception. Thirty-five schools took part for the first time.

Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof and secretary general Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi were present at the prize-giving ceremony held recently.

In the competition, secondary school students were challenged to unleash their creativity to invent and find a product or service that can be commercialised, and achieve the level of investor readiness.

The main idea behind the competition is to drive youths to pick up entrepreneurship as a career choice, the bank said in the statement.

In general, the products produced by the students were based on natural ingredients such as herbs and plants, recycled and organic materials, and technology-based services via mobile applications.

In addition to the guidance by the teachers, the banksaid students also took advice from experts and conducted research to nail the product they wanted to bring to the competition.

In 2015, SME Bank introduced another entrepreneurship competition, the SME Bank 90-Days Business Challenge, targetting community college students enrolled in the Entrepreneurship Incubator Programme.

The third edition of the SME Bank 90-Days Business Challenge, which is now also open to polytechnic students, will take place next year. The Y-Biz Challenge and 90-Days Business Challenge are organised on a rotational basis.