Three entrepreneurs from Malaysia, Brazil, and the Philippines have taken home the top prizes in the 2022 Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators Awards, a global competition that highlights and rewards the most innovative and impactful Shell LiveWIRE entrepreneurs.
The winners were announced on November 15 at an awards ceremony in Mexico City that was broadcast online. Mexico is the newest country to join Shell LiveWIRE after launching earlier this year.
Irene Mositol from Malaysia won first prize in the Social Impact category. Her business, Dumowongi, helps women generate their own income by teaching sustainable farming and aggregating their products for larger sales.
Additionally, Heineken Laluan, CEO and co-founder of Timogah, has emerged a runner-up in the Business Innovation category, winning USD10,000 and a year of global business mentoring and coaching.
Timogah.com is an e-commerce platform enabling people to buy fresh local produce from rural farmers, rural communities, local hawkers and other daily needs from local businesses. They are currently based in TEGAS Digital Village, Sama Jaya High Tech Park, Kuching. Apart from being one of the finalists for the awards, Heineken was also one of the Sarawak Shell Livewire Malaysia winners in 2018 which was organized in partnership with TEGAS.
Ahmad Azuar Zainuddin, CEO of Satu Creative Services Sdn Bhd, was also named as a runner-up in the Implementing Partner category (Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia).
Camila de Araujo Reveles Barreira, from Brazil, claimed the top spot in the Environmental Sustainability category. Camila is the Owner and Founder of Salty Agricultura Salina which cultivates saline-resilient and edible plant species using local resources and renewable energy.
Dr Jerome Palaganas from the Philippines was the winner in the Business Innovation Category. Jerome co-founded and is the CEO of Nanotronic Inc. which produces nanomaterials derived from indigenous plants as an alternative to plastic packaging.
Centro Integrado de Estudos e Programas de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (CIEDS) won the implementing partner award for innovative delivery of the LiveWIRE Programme in Brazil.
The three first-place winners will receive USD 20,000 cash prize and the runners-up will each receive USD 10,000. All ten entrepreneurs will receive mentoring support for a year to help develop their businesses
“I want to warmly congratulate our ten winners. I am so thrilled that as we bring LiveWIRE’s 40th anniversary year to a close, we do so by celebrating and rewarding such impactful entrepreneurs. From platforms that help rural farmers get their products to consumers to applying principles of circularity to business models to reduce waste, our winners are real innovators.
“Their impact demonstrates the capacity that the LiveWIRE programme has to support individuals driving meaningful employment and local prosperity in their own communities. I am confident that our winners are going to go on to inspire many more entrepreneurs to consider the path of entrepreneurship. I also want to acknowledge and thank all 195 entrepreneurs from 17 countries that took the time to enter this year’s competition”, said Charlotte Friedli, Shell LiveWIRE Global Lead.
The top ten winners were selected from a 21-person shortlist by a combination of a public vote and an expert judging panel.