They invest in social enterprise projects around the globe but as GAB Marketing Director Bruce Dallas said, it is not just about money.
"We pair financial support with business mentoring to work with people to bring their projects and ideas to the next level."
The project is named Entrepreneurs for Good because the ventures they are helping do not focus on profit but rather on benefiting the lives of communities around them.
"We're proud to help them succeed in this work and to help society change for the better in communities across Malaysia."
British Council Country Director Gavin Anderson believes they will be able to build the social business ventures for the six winners to benefit their communities while inspiring others to follow their footsteps.
A look at some of the 12 participants who were shortlisted from a nationwide road show.
Shuttle GO
Provide van shuttles that transport you from your apartment to the nearest LRT station in an effort to reduce the number of cars on the road. They even have Wi-Fi and coffee in the vans!
Ecocentric Transitions
All about saving the environment and making it a better world for everyone by teaching people how to be eco-responsible.
Tech Outreach Malaysia
This one appealed to me because they empower women with the skills and knowledge to support themselves. They don't just help but teach them how to help themselves.
BYOB Green Concepts
You might have heard of BYOB by now. By bringing your own bottles to get your daily supplies, you are helping to save the world! Each bottle you reuse means resources are not used to create another bottle.
Cleanbites
And then there was this guy with food. I like him already LOL He aims to provide healthy and delicious food to the public through subscription based delivery to improve general well-being of everyone. Not all healthy foods are gross. For example, those are flourless sweet potato brownies! And some crunchy power bars with banana and cranberry. Not bad!
Silentshout Communication
Didn't get a picture but just wanted to do a shoutout to them for holding film festivals featuring films shot by the deaf. Awesome.
The MAD Experience
Focusing on poverty, they recruit others by equipping them with the tools and support to create their own projects to fight poverty. After raising enough funds, they are rewarded by a trip to visit the community they are helping.
Project Venture
If you have an idea, Daniel can help you launch your work! Working through mentoring and crowdfunding, the project aims to help people achieve their dreams. His first project was getting students in HELP University obtain good breakfasts so they don't skip them on your way to class.
I also found this rather nice photo of us from their Twitter account xD
Catama Craft Enterprise
Rather new at only 3 months old, they have a lot of space to expand. They work with women in rural Sarawakian areas to help them gain economic stability. Amalina (right) aims to infuse the beautiful traditional designs into modern interior design to not only preserve the tradition but provide income for the underprivileged communities.
Arkitrek
Similar to Catama, Arkitrek also appreciates traditional art by incorporating them into parts of the house and even building houses out of it. The material is pretty and cooling.
Tanoti
Aiming to preserve the art of songket weaving by encouraging them to pass the skill to younger generations and also helping them to obtain sustainable income by establishing supply chains which use fair business.
Some of the ecstatic winners!
The 6 winners are... *drummroll*
- The MAD Experience
- Cleanbites
- Catama Craft Enterprise
- BYOB Green Concepts
- Shuttle GO
- Ecocentric Transitions
Each winner is awarded with RM 20,000 - 40,000 to kickstart their venture along with business mentoring and training for a year.
Tanoti, as the winner of People's Choice Award through public voting, will receive training and mentoring to achieve her objectives.
Btw, those amazing frames were done by Catama Craft Enterprise!
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