Fighting Poverty through Innovation

Kuala Lumpur, 2 June, 2016 – Sometime in March, during the Sime Darby Young Innovators Challenge 2016, more than 200 youths aged between 13 and 16, residing in Malaysia were presented with the challenge of overcoming the global issue of poverty.

20 of them who made it to the finals held over five days from 29 May until 2 June, impressed the organisers and judges of Sime Darby’s inaugural Young Innovators Challenge (YIC) 2016 with their innovative and creative solutions.

Showcasing their creativity and innovation, through their experimental nature, participatory approaches, and peer-learning, these young people unleashed their potential, working with their teams to present their best solutions in line with the theme: People, Planet and Prosperity.

Today, Prime Minister of Malaysia YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak,  crowned the winning team who beat other hopefuls to take home the title of Sime Darby YIC 2016 Champion. Also present during the ceremony held in conjunction with Sime Darby’s Innovation Day were Yayasan Sime Darby chairman Tun Musa Hitam, Sime Darby  chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Ghani Othman and President & Group Chief Executive Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Bakke Salleh.  YIC ambassador Faye Jong Sow Fei was also present. Faye is the first and only Malaysian to have an asteroid named after her as a result of her accomplishments through a project funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Agency (NASA). 

The closing ceremony marked the culmination of a five-day, four-night national workshop where the finalists of the Challenge fine-tuned their ideas which were conceptualised during the first round of four regional workshops. The national workshop included field trips to assess the effectiveness of their solutions for the target market while engaging beneficiaries on a first-hand basis. Equipped with skills of ideation, design thinking, prototyping, leadership, and entrepreneurship which they gained during the regional workshops, the teams battled it out to come up with the most imaginative yet realistic possible solutions to poverty. 

“The YIC is unique in that it challenges our youths to think of solutions to address real life issues such as poverty, which is our main topic this year. We are nurturing these young minds to be innovative and to come up with ideas to help the urban poor to be self-sustaining,” said Tan Sri Ghani.

The team crowned the Sime Darby YIC 2016 Champion was awarded with a prize money of RM10,000 as well as other exciting prizes including a MacBook for each team member. The second and third placed teams walked away with great prizes that included cash and iPads. Participants were evaluated on their ability to develop extraordinary ideas and how these would impact society. 

The Challenge, the first of its kind organised by Sime Darby, will be held annually. 

For more details, please visit www.sdyounginnovators.com.

About Sime Darby 
Sime Darby is a Malaysia-based diversified multinational involved in key growth sectors, namely, plantation, industrial equipment, motors, property and energy & utilities. Founded in 1910, its business divisions seek to create positive benefits in the economy, environment and society where it has a presence. 

With a workforce of 132,000 employees in 26 countries and 4 territories, Sime Darby is committed to building a sustainable future for all its stakeholders. It is one of the largest companies on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalisation of RM45.01 billion (USD11.03 billion) as at 25 May 2016. 

For further information, please contact:

Shahriman Johari
External Communications 
Group Communications
Sime Darby Berhad
Tel: +(603) 2711 0923 
Mobile: +(6019) 333 8320 
Email: shahriman.johari@simedarby.com