WEEK 10
5.12.2021 - 11.12.2021
TECHNOPRENEURSHIP & SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Lead Ministry :
Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia (KBS)
Lead Agency :
International Youth Centre (IYC)
ABSTRACT
In Malaysia, where 47% of the 32 million population are youth, talent and potential human capital among youth are nurtured to enable them to contribute to society at all life stages, locally and globally. The revised Malaysian Youth Policy of 2015 has identified entrepreneurship as one of the youth priority areas that plays an influential role in the country’s economic growth and nation’s standard of living.
Entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming youth’s career of choice. The digital economy has overtaken the traditional models of doing business globally, and this scenario has challenged young new technopreneurs to step forward to be recognised at international level. Therefore, growth of youth technopreneurship needs to be premised on innovation, creativity and higher productivity.
Malaysia has taken initiatives to invest in technological innovations and advancement to support entrepreneurship sustainability as the Industrial Revolution 4.0, fueled by digital technologies, is changing society, the economy and impacting the way businesses are done.
Public-private partnership initiatives help identify potential young entrepreneurs through grassroots outreach and engagement, incubate through capacity-building and accelerate youth-led ventures by providing inclusive financing, support and opportunities to scale up. Programmes and initiatives are designed to be inclusive, gender-sensitive and optimised for youth of various abilities and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Malaysian youth entrepreneurs need to be prepared to penetrate and succeed in global markets. The 10th Week programme on “Technopreneurship & Social Entrepreneurship” will provide a platform for them to showcase their digital-led innovations and technologies to the world and at the same time, opportunity to build network among technopreneurs globally.
The social enterprise sector is also vibrant in Malaysia where there are many talents in social entrepreneurship that implement techniques to develop, fund and incorporate solutions to benefit or positively impact social, cultural and environmental issues. Social enterprises have shown to nurture women and young people to take on leadership roles.
At the same time, huge support and encouragement are given to youth social entrepreneurs who create job opportunities for others. The mindset shift from looking for employment to creating job opportunities prove that empowering youth would lead to greater contribution to the nation and world.
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WHAT TO EXPECT:
YOUTH POWER – Towards youth empowerment through leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship
The focus of Week 10 is to introduce to the world potential and innovative digital-led products and services offered by Malaysian youth technopreneurs and social entrepreneurs, and at the same time attract potential investors.
This programme aims to encourage the younger generation to play an active role in the country’s digital economy as well as to come up with solutions to address social and environmental concerns.
The week’s programme is led by the Youth and Sports Ministry Malaysia, which will promote youth technopreneurs, while the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry Malaysia will promote women social entrepreneurs. The thrusts of the programme and activities, which include pocket talks and business matching sessions, are premised on social innovation, youth empowerment and R&D innovation. The National Sports Institute will promote R&D Innovation products for trade and collaboration.