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https://digi.com.my/media/articleURLhereWhichCanbeReallyLong

DiGi Social Venture Challenge showcases youth solutions for enhancing value of DiGi CBCs

SHAH ALAM, 4 MARCH 2011: DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (DiGi) today announced the winner of the Social Venture competition, the second-prong of its Deep Green Challenge for Change 2010.

The winning team from Universiti Sains Malaysia (Team EvZone) beat 8 other finalists for the RM10,000 Grand Prize which was presented by Dato' Rohani Abdullah, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education who represented Deputy Minister, YB Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah.

The Social Venture competition is one of two DiGi Deep Green Challenge for Change programmes that aims to bring together Malaysians to showcase the best GreenTech and Social Venture ideas that can be taken through to commercialisation.

The Social Venture Challenge engages with youth to make DiGi's 14 Community Broadband Centres (CBCs) nationwide even more self-sustaining in the longer term.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, DiGi's Chief Executive Officer Henrik Clausen said that it is tapping on the Company's strengths in telecommunications to advance the ecosystem in which it operates.

"A guiding principle that shapes the way we work and business decisions we make is the positive change we will have on our customers, employees and every touch point in our daily engagements. We take the same approach for corporate responsibility. From environment, workplace, marketplace to community, it is about leveraging on our core competencies and strengths towards generating solutions and taking steps to make a real difference for society at large."

He added that the CBCs were chosen as the focal point for the challenge due to the pivotal role they play in providing under-served communities with affordable Internet access.

"The Challenge encouraged participants to develop solutions that will further enhance the value of CBCs to the communities they serve. The goal is to make the CBCs more self-sustaining - whether in terms of energy usage or commercial value, and even in the facilities they provide. Our hope is that sustainable CBCs will spur continued mobility and ICT usage in the community, as we expand our network access to its surrounding areas," Clausen added.

Speaking at the prize presentation on behalf of Deputy Minister Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, Dato' Rohani Abdullah, the Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education said the corporate sector can play a valuable role in augmenting undergraduates' education by giving them opportunities for gaining practical experience.

"As engines of our economy, corporate entities are well-placed to provide opportunities for our young to gain invaluable hands-on exposure to all aspects of commerce - from research and development through to sales, marketing, operations and even the administrative aspects of running a successful business."

He added, "The DiGi Social Venture Challenge is one such example of how corporates can add value to the education of our youth. Getting students to focus on generating practical solutions for the Community Broadband Centers gives them a chance to flex their creative thinking muscles in a focused manner that drives the creation of implementable solutions that will have long-term impact on the viability of these centres."

27 teams from 13 local universities submitted entries for the Social Venture Challenge. 9 finalists were then chosen to attend a Development Workshop and Study Trip to DiGi's CBC and given RM1,000 each in seed funding to develop their respective ideas. Each team was assigned mentors comprising DiGi employees to guide the development of each project.

For more information on DiGi's Deep Green initiative, visit www.challengeforchange.com.my.

Issued by:
Corporate Communications Department.