VIRTUAL TOUR
2015
1 AprA Soapy Solution UCSI University students’ winning idea to empower an island community in Sabah
Three UCSI University (UCSI) students are determined to tackle poverty and their solution involves two simple components – housewives and soap.
The Banggi Soap Project aims to train the housewives of Kampung Kalangkaman of Pulau Banggi, Sabah on the art of producing handmade soap bars. These bars will then be purchased from each housewife before being sold to consumers.
Unlike other such initiatives that are more commission-based – soap makers only receive their payment when the soap is sold to the consumer – this method would provide housewives with an immediate source of income. Depending on their hard work, the housewives would be empowered to have control of their income and subsequently, plan their finances.
Soap production does not require much resources and equipment, making it an ideal project for the housewives of Kampung Kalangkaman, which is accessible only through a nine-hour boat ride from Kota Kinabalu.
To keep overheads low and make this plan easily implemented, the soap bars will be sold online and through collaborations with non-governmental organisations.
The idea was the brainchild of Eric Kong (23), Kelvin Choo (22), and Vivian Ng (23) who are students of UCSI’s Faculty of Business and Information Science (FoBIS). The three are pursuing the BA (Hons) Marketing, BSc (Hons) Finance and Investment and BA (Hons) Accounting respectively.
This concept for the Banggi Soap Project won one of the four cash prizes of RM10,000 during the WIEF Social Entrepreneurship Challenge 2014. The Challenge was part of the prestigious World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation supported by organisations including the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), and the Muslim Council of Britain.
Students and Agents of Change
Team leader Choo first heard about the competition from his lecturer. He then roped in Kong and Ng – his university mates whom he felt shared his passion for social entrepreneurship. All of them had participated in UCSI’s highly popular Business Plan Competition and Entrepreneurship Building Project in 2014.
As business students, it may be a surprise to know that their motivation to join the competition was not the prize money. It was the fact that the project gave them a chance to leave a lasting impact on a disadvantaged community.
“We liked the idea because it was not merely a one-off act of charity – it merged entrepreneurship with a social cause,” said Choo.
Ng echoed his views, adding that “It is a long term win-win solution for everyone, business owners and villagers.”
Nodding in agreement, Kong shared that he wanted the project to provide the villagers with a source of income to fund their children’s education. The importance of education is something close to his heart as he is financing his own studies.
His marketing degree at UCSI was initially made possible by juggling three jobs – at Starbucks, giving tuition and working as a course counsellor at UCSI. He was able to give up the first two through a scholarship from UCSI University Trust and is determined to give back to society through this project.
The challenge was coming up with a project that was suitable for the chosen community without bringing in a foreign element. The rules stipulated that participants must propose a project that used the existing resources available in the community.
The trio had to really get to know the people of Kampung Kalangkaman – which was not easy as they could not visit the village physically. Ng shared that they worked closely with the Social Welfare Department of Sabah.
Ng explained that after much research and phone calls, they hit upon the soap-making idea which was based on natural ingredients like coconut oil, palm oil and local herbs that were readily available in the village.
“The Banggi Soap Project is the voice of the villagers because very simply, the idea stemmed from the community – their lifestyle, limitations and ambition.”
As students of the Faculty of Business and Information Science, all three credited the faculty’s strong emphasis on real world application of knowledge for the success of their project.
Kong’s marketing background made him realise that housewives were an important source of non-utilised work force. This insight gave their project its unique grounding in financially empowering housewives. Choo’s finance and investment degree gave him a deep understanding of what investors want to know before committing to a new project. In his own words, “We knew what the judges and investors would ask about our project and how to capture their attention.”
The project’s financial planning and costing were carefully controlled by Ng who was in the final year of her accounting degree. Her confidence and knowledge resulted in numbers that showed the judges clearly the cost of each stage of the initiative and how it could easily be funded.
During his interview on BFM radio after the competition, Tan Sri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin, Chairman of the WIEF Education Trust, spoke highly of the team’s pitching skills.
He shared that the team was very articulate and defended their idea even when they were grilled by the judges.
“They didn’t collapse and just say ‘yes’ to us judges. They stood by their idea, and we thought we should give them a chance,” he said.
Tan Sri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid shared that all four winning teams will receive support from the WIEF Foundation which is looking to perfect the selected ideas. Eventually, it is hoped that these ideas can be replicated in other WIEF member nations.
Now that the competition was over, will the team just pocket the prize money and let the idea remain a mere idea?
“We never thought of winning – we just want to help the people of Kampung Kalangkaman. And we fully intend to do it,” said Kong as the other two nodded firmly.
Each used a portion of the prize money for their various needs – including contributing to their university fees and family – but a part of it was firmly set aside to bring this project to life.
The students are now in the early stages of talking to potential NGOs and writing business proposals to seek funds from investors to kick off this project.
They are still focusing on graduating, but they are determined to make their education count – not just for themselves, but for others.
“We want to create a business model that makes a profit while making a positive social impact, not at the expense of it,” said Ng with a smile.
To find out more about UCSI University’s Faculty of Business and Information Science programmes, contact us at 03-91018882 or email www.ucsiuniversity.edu.my/onlineenquiry. You can also drop by our Open Day 28 - 29 March 2015 (9am – 5pm).
