With Goodday KidSTART recognized by the Malaysia Book of Records as the kidpreneur programme with the most participants, Goodday Milk empowers the next generation with a solid foundation to build their business dreams while cultivating good financial habits and critical life skills.
12th February 2023, KUALA LUMPUR – Goodday Milk, a leading milk brand in Malaysia, has concluded Goodday KidSTART, the biggest kid-preneur challenge in the country successfully today. Launched in November 2022, the challenge saw 340 participants from across the nation take part in this competition designed to create financial literacy among children, as well as drive the spirit of entrepreneurship and responsibility.
Speaking about Goodday KidSTART, Etika’s Vice President of Marketing, Amy Gan said, “Goodday KidSTART is a first-of-its kind in Malaysia, in keeping with Etika’s tradition of innovation and path-breaking ideas. The programme is in line with Goodday Milk Malaysia’s mission of providing nutrition that helps the development of mind and body in children. We are also delighted to be featured in the Malaysian Book of Records as the biggest kid-preneur programme in Malaysia, achieving the greatest number of participants for a kidpreneur programme.
Recognising the lack of financial literacy in Malaysian youth, we wanted to equip children with the right knowledge to develop strong money habits early on to ensure they are on the right track to a financially sound future. By instilling confidence and imparting the skills required to fuel a child’s entrepreneurial spirit, we are teaching our kids to understand the concept of money so they can make responsible financial decisions. Thus, we see Goodday Milk as a brand that doesn’t just provide goodness in the form of nutrition but also goodness in the form of well being to the community, in this case financial soundness.”
From the 340 submissions, 20 children, including 2 less fortunate children from charities based in Selangor, were shortlisted for a 2-Day business bootcamp that concluded with a pitching session to a panel of judges comprised of Ernie Chen, Chairman of Portman Education Group, Social Entrepreneurs Faridah Halina Zairi, founder of Coffee for Good and Salena Ahmad, Founder & CEO of Suri Inspirasi Sdn Bhd, as well as Chin Yien Yien, Senior Brand Manager for Goodday Milk.
The bootcamp saw them go through a series of modules, from learning good entrepreneurial and financial habits to the A – Z’s of pitching a business plan to potential investors. At the end of the bootcamp, 8 winners walked away with cash prizes from a fund pool of RM51,000 to kick start their business ideas.
The first prize of RM20,000 was awarded to 10 year old Fatimah Basyeerah Binti Mohamed Ackiel from Dengkil, for her stroke cognitive skills recovery software application, an idea born from her desire to help her grandfather who suffered a stroke. Fatimah impressed the judges with her charismatic presentation and ability to articulate her business idea clearly. The judges also collectively expressed their excitement to see the idea come to fruition.
Speaking after her win, Fatimah said, “I did not expect it. I’m so happy, thankful and excited to grow my business. Goodday Milk and the rest of the team have been very encouraging and I’m looking forward to using the prize money to develop and test my app on stroke patients.” When asked if she had any advice for the next group of KidSTART participants, she said, ”My advice is, believe in your idea, stay calm and do your best.”
The second prize of RM10,000 went to Ong Joon Zach for his business, CocoCool, the first innovative coconut extractor that can extract and cool fresh coconut water directly from its fruits hygienically in one-single step, while the 3rd to 5th prize of RM5,000, RM4,000 and RM3,000 was awarded to Fredston Wang Le Dong, A’isy Sofyan Bin Mohd Salehuddin and Ahmad Zulfazriel Iman Bin Ahmad Faizul respectively. Muhammad Danish Bin Mohamad Zamri, Joe Chew Thong Yao and Tan Shwen Yin took home the awards for Best Presenter, Most Innovative Idea and Young Emerging Star, each walking away with RM3,000.
Ariel, mother to 3rd place winner, Fredston said, “I wanted to expose Fredston to other like minded individuals, taking this entrepreneurial journey with them. He’s participated in other contests but Goodday KidSTART was the first platform to allow him to think out of the box and place importance in building not just a successful business but one that has a positive impact on others and the planet.”
Joe Chew’s mother, Yvonne added, “I’m really happy that there is a platform like this
for my children. We see this happen frequently in other countries and having a programme like this in Malaysia gives me assurance that our kids aren’t left behind and have the opportunity to progress, on par with others. I think more corporations should follow Goodday Milk’s lead and start paying attention to our future generation.”
Etika’s Vice President of Marketing, Amy Gan said, “We are delighted to see the enthusiastic response of kids aged 7 to 14, who have embraced this innovative program. During the bootcamp, I was particularly humbled and touched to learn of the stories of two finalists who, despite having faced difficult family situations and are in the welfare system, have shown passion and drive to better their lives. This experience was truly inspiring, and I’m happy that Goodday KidSTART was able to provide opportunities to invest in a child’s early years of development. A huge congratulations to today’s winners; we look forward to seeing their ideas become a reality! We are also grateful to our collaborators, Dwi Emas International School, My First Seed and the other organisations involved for their support throughout this campaign. Only with their help could we reach this many children and allow the campaign to have the impact it has had.”
She added, “Looking at the overwhelming response we received in round 1, we will be launching round 2 of Goodday KidSTART later this year, so we encourage parents to keep an eye out and urge their kids to enter!”
The Goodday KidSTART kid-preneur programme phase 1 ran from 21st November 2022 to 25th January 2023, with kids submitting their ideas through video format. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/gooddaymilkmalaysia.
