KUCHING: The establishment of Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) Digital Village (TDV) will help aspiring local start-ups and entrepreneurs set up business, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said the village, located at the Sama Jaya High Tech Park, here, would be equipped with the latest technological equipment that could be used by the start-ups and entrepreneurs.
“Our entrepreneurs can make use of this facility (digital village), besides, there are spaces that can be used as their offices.
“The TDV is modelled after the ‘Plug and Play Tech Centre’ in Silicon Valley, which is a laboratory for people to set up new start-ups. These start-ups can be groomed (at the digital village) into international companies,” he said at a press conference after visiting the TDV here, today.
Envisioned by Abang Johari back in 2017, the TDV was established to facilitate technology transfer and commercialisation, as well as promote digital innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.
The project construction commenced in January 2019 and was initially scheduled for completion in July 2020. However, in March 2020, the project was slightly behind schedule and when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced in March, Tegas had to issue a stop-work order to the contractor.
Tegas resumed the construction work in June 2020 with a new catch-up plan and worked closely with its consultants and contractor to expedite the project.
Meanwhile, Tegas chairman Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the establishment of TDV was an affirmative action as the Sarawak government was committed to accelerating the growth of local start-ups and social enterprises in the state.
“Through the TDV, Tegas and its ecosystem partners will further strengthen efforts in enhancing the innovation entrepreneurship ecosystem and subsequently drive the digital economy,” he added.
The initiatives at the TDV, among others, will include growth acceleration and scale-up programmes, R&D commercialisation, market access and funding facilitation, corporate innovation and ecosystem enhancement, as well as Intellectual Property (IP) support.- Bernama
