IEEE Innovation Nation Malaysia 2022 is a business competition that focuses on the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Additionally, ideas pitched in this competition must address at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provided by the United Nations, namely SDG #3 Good Health or Well-Being and SDG #9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. This competition is open to all college or university students only. There are two tracks for this competition; Malaysia track and Sarawak track. The Malaysia track is open to every Malaysian student, while the Sarawak track requires at least one member of the team to be a Sarawakian.

Team ecluck’s journey started off from the preliminary round consisting of over 30 participating teams, which were then shortlisted to the top 10 finalists for the Final Round held virtually via IEEE Innovation Nation Malaysia’s Facebook page. The business idea that was pitched by the team was the introduction of their product, ecluck, which refers to the creation of a sustainable alternative for chicken feed in Penang, using a Japan-certified technology.

Their business idea was inspired by the recent hike in chicken prices nationwide. At the same time, the issue of increasing food waste caught the team’s eye, which encouraged the girls to utilise this opportunity by using food scraps as the main ingredient for their chicken feed, and hence, ecluck was born. SDG#3 Good Health or Well-Being was incorporated into their business idea, ensuring that ecluck is safe, nutritious, and environmental-friendly for the chickens and ultimately, for society. What makes their achievement even more noteworthy is that Team ecluck was crowned as the champion despite being at the ideation stage, unlike some shortlisted teams that were already existing startups. We are proud of you and wish you all the best in your entrepreneurial journey.

Congratulations!