“MaGIC are passionate advocates of social entrepreneurship because we’ve seen the transformative powers of entrepreneurs that are guided by altruistic compasses.”
This was said by Malaysian Global Innovation & Creative Centre’s (MaGIC) CEO Dzuleira Abu Bakar at the kick-off ceremony for the Social Entrepreneurs – Transformation, Innovation & Acceleration (SEtia) bootcamp yesterday morning.
In line with MaGIC’s unwavering support of social enterprises (SEs), it is another initiative to bolster the growth of young startups looking to make social change in Malaysia.
After a MoU signing between MaGIC and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia (Standard Chartered) in December 2019, SEtia was supposed to happen much earlier in 2020, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
Now it’s back in motion, and 50 Malaysian social entrepreneurs are set to tackle the bootcamp.
A 6-Month Bootcamp
To qualify, the 50 participants had to already have validated social impact businesses that had a working prototype of some sort.
These 50 entrepreneurs come from 25 SEs, with each SE contributing at least 2 co-founders to the programme full-time.
SETia’s customised syllabus is meant to strengthen the development of SEs through business coaching and mentoring support on business modelling, financial management, innovative marketing strategies, government policies, and more.
It’s structured on a build, validate and learn cycle that requires participants to refine and develop their ideas into practical and implementable businesses to further drive and maximise their impact.
So, for the next 4 weeks, the entrepreneurs will undergo training where they’ll be exposed to creative and innovative business strategies to maximise social impact and profit, complete entrepreneurship development modules, have active discussions and immersive visits to existing social enterprises.
Upon graduation of the 4-week training, the entrepreneurs will be monitored and have access to coaching and mentoring for the next 5 months.
By the end of that, they’ll be ready to apply for the Social Enterprise Accreditation.
The Hustle Never Stops
Having collaborated with MaGIC since 2017 in supporting and developing entrepreneurs, Standard Chartered is no stranger to empowering social enterprises either.
It has an entrepreneurship pillar under Futuremakers, its global initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion for youths in our community.
Through it, programmes focused on education, employability and entrepreneurship are directed towards disadvantaged youths from low-income households, particularly girls and people with visual impairments.
Towards the end of the ceremony, Dzuleira had more to share on what MaGIC had up its sleeves for SEs.
“We will soon launch the Social Impact Matching (SIM) Grant, an initiative announced by our Prime Minister as part of the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA).”
She looked at the audience pointedly and added with a smile, “I expect to see at least 24 applications when we launch.”
MaGIC is also working with partners to establish an online space for SEs to market their products, and it’s developing a campaign to encourage impact-driven consumption among Malaysians too.
On the backend, MaGIC is revamping its impact measurement framework for social innovation.
“This will improve our ability to recognise the immediate needs of the entrepreneurs we serve and connect them to the right partners and resources that are pivotal to their growth,” Dzuleira said.
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Featured Image Credit: MaGIC
