Selangor Youth Community(SAY) Strengthening the Development of Disabled Entrepreneur Through The Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League 2023.

Selangor Youth Community(SAY) Strengthening the Development of Disabled Entrepreneur Through The Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League 2023. | Being an entrepreneur is not an easy job for a person, and it will be tougher for a disabled person right? Somehow, this doesn't mean that a disabled person can't be a successful in this field.

Recently, I was invited to another great league by SAY where the finalist is the disabled person who actually starts from zero and has been successful in making money with the help of this program.

Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League 2023

His Royal Highness (D.Y.T.M.) Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, the Young Raja of Selangor develops entrepreneurs with disabilities through the Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League or SAY LEAD PRO program through the Selangor Youth Community (SAY) is supported by the Hasanah Foundation. 

This effort is to develop entrepreneurs with disabilities who have different backgrounds around Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya and Negeri Sembilan
through an entrepreneurship program that has lasted for 18 months.

The Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League or SAY LEAD PRO program aims to increase their socio-economic level in order to generate a stable income through business and further create a community of OKU entrepreneurs who help and benefit each other to society. 

There are four phases of this program namely :

• Unearth The Talent
• Commercialisation
• Sustainability  
• Giving Back to Society

Among the core of this program is entrepreneurship training, the involvement of mentors from the industry, counseling sessions and the involvement of family members.

Final Round of the Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League

Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League Finalist

In the first phase of the program, a total of 90 disabled entrepreneurs were selected based on the food sector and beverages (F&B), tailoring and online business. In this phase, participants are given basic training based on their sector, and a total of RM90,000.00 was awarded to the 30 best participants for all sectors as a business start-up grant. 

In the final round of the Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League today, a total of 10 disabled entrepreneurs have made business presentations in front of His Royal Highness Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, King Young Selangor. Various types of businesses were presented, among them chips, oil fragrances, grocery stores, tailoring of clothes and batik bags, tanjak, panipuri, starfish black pepper sauce, rendang, etc.

Finalist with their products

At the end of the presentation, three entrepreneurs will be selected to win this final round and crowned as the SAY LEAD PRO Entrepreneur Icon 2023. The winner will take home the Trophy SAY LEAD PRO 2023 Entrepreneur Icon and an additional business grant worth RM2,000.00 a person.

The three winners of the Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League Finals are:

First place: 

Ms. Nor Zaidah binti Ab Rahman.

Brand: Zai Collection

Type of disability: Physical

Product: Batik Blouse & Tops

Second place: 

Lailatol Mawar binti Mohd Noh

Brand: Lyla Rose

Type of disability: Physical

Products: Tote Bag, Book Cover, Table Runner, Placement

Third place:

Nurzakiah bt Dzulkifli

Brand: Perfume Fragrance

Type of disability: Physical

Product: Perfume

The final round of the Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneur League was judged by an experienced jury which consists of:

1. His Royal Highness Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj, King Muda Selangor is also the Founder and Royal Patron of the Selangor Youth Community (SAY)
2. YBrs. Mr. Zadil Hanief Mohamad Zaidi - Chief Strategy Officer, Hasanah Foundation
3. YBrs. Mr. Rizal Nainy - Chief Executive Officer, SMECorps
4. YBrs. Mr. Muhd Firdaus Bin Azharuddin - Chief Executive Officer, INSKEN
5. YBrs. Puan Hairul Azrien Baharudin - Entrepreneur Development Officer, DDEC, MARA

ABOUT SELANGOR YOUTH COMMUNITY (SAY)

Selangor Youth Community (SAY) was established by His Highness Tengku Amir
Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, Raja Muda Selangor in 2017. SAY is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization that strives to
give birth to dynamic and progressive youth in the state of Selangor.

Based on studies and workshops conducted by the Boston Consulting Group in recognizing definitely youth in Selangor, SAY is based on four (4) main cores which are Entrepreneurship, Sports and Wellness, Arts and Creative, and Community Service. These four main focuses align with the interests of youth in the state of Selangor. 

Until 2022, SAY has made a positive impact on a total of 310,738 youth, not only concentrated in the state of Selangor but also throughout Malaysia through more than 200 initiatives and programs starting from the first year of establishment at once resulting in a social return on investment (SROI) of 1:3.03. SAY also runs the program and holistic initiatives through partners from various government agencies, and community companies to identify gaps in the ecosystem to ensure no community is left out.


Congrats again to all winners and hopefully this will inspire more disabled person or even a normal person to strive in this field.