I recently had the privilege of attending the grand finale of Malaysia’s largest Kidpreneur Programme, Goodday KidSTART 2.0, and I must say, it was an incredibly inspiring experience. Held on June 30th, 2024, the event was a beautiful testament to the creativity and potential of our young minds. The atmosphere was electric with excitement as children from across the nation gathered to showcase their innovative business ideas. The highlight of the day was watching 9-year-old Lee Yumi take the top honor with her ‘OnBoard: School Bus System’ idea, earning her RM20,000 to bring her vision to life. Her determination to solve real-life problems was truly commendable.

The competition was fierce, with over 4,000 submissions from 141 schools nationwide. SJK (C) Puay Chai was particularly impressive, winning the School With Highest Participants award thanks to their 478 entries and three students shortlisted in the Top 20. I was deeply moved by the presentations of 12-year-old Muhammad Basyeer Bin Mohamed Ackiel Mohamed, who won second place with ‘The Academy of Future: Peer to Peer Learning Coding & Robotics’, and 9-year-old Lim Zhi Fung, who secured third place with his ‘MindACT: ACTor Program’ idea. The room was filled with pride and joy as these young entrepreneurs received their well-deserved accolades.

Throughout the day, I had the pleasure of witnessing the immense talent and passion of our youth. Awards for Most Innovative Idea, Most Sustainable Idea, and Best Presenter were handed out to equally deserving participants. The Rising Star award went to 9-year-old Elsa Khaw Wen Qing, who left everyone in awe with her presentation. The event’s success was a testament to the collaborative efforts of Goodday Milk, the Ministry of Education, Alliance Bank, and all the partners involved. Their support and dedication to nurturing the next generation of kidpreneurs were evident in every aspect of the program.

Listening to the heartfelt words of Amy Gan, VP of Etika's Marketing, and Dr. Aaron Sum, Alliance Bank’s Group Chief Strategy, Marketing, & Business Development Officer, further reinforced the importance of such initiatives. Their commitment to fostering financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills among our children is paving the way for a brighter future. I felt a deep sense of gratitude and pride as I watched these young minds shine.

 As I left the event, I couldn’t help but feel hopeful for the future. The creativity, intelligence, and determination displayed by these young entrepreneurs were truly inspiring. It reminded me of the importance of supporting and nurturing our children’s dreams and aspirations. Goodday Milk’s commitment to providing goodness beyond nutrition by enhancing the well-being of our community and promoting financial soundness for the next generation is something we should all applaud and support. Let’s continue to encourage and empower our young entrepreneurs, as they are the future of our nation.

 Being an entrepreneur in my field while building my dreams along my NuProfessional journey has been an exciting and fun experience. The best part of this is I am finally able to realize my dream really soon. They say dream big dreams! Dare to dream big! And BELIEVE! So I did, and true enough, I almost got my own home end of 2020 but the waiting list was taken up and I knew the next big one was waiting for me. Little did I know, I actually am not that excited with just a double storey unit but a Semi-D instead, and recently my son added 1 more request to our family dream house with a swimming pool in the backyard. 

Then I realize one thing, I can't just pick a home off the market, it will be incomplete. I must design it ground up!

The minute I decided on this thought, the Universe works in beautiful wondrous ways and brought me IDW Design right to my doorstep! At first I thought it was like any other interior designing book of ideas and such but I did a little digging and I knew I had to share what I've learnt about IDW Design & Build.

From its humble beginnings in 2007, both founders Lokman Hakim and Rabiatul Adawiyah at the early age of 21 (yes! 21 my friend!), established IDW Design & Build as a start-up business in interior and renovation that was driven after receiving their first offer to design and renovate a bungalow which costed RM1.4 million. When they were 24yrs old, they received another huge project of RM1.7 million to design a college that took one year for the completion progress! Through all the challenges in the business and life puts out at them, they faced them both head on and both founders tied-the-knot in 2012! Just when things seem it was all in plan, life will put anyone through challenges no matter what path one may take and in 2017, a fire tragedy that almost took Lokman Hakim and his family's precious life when they were staying at their New Zealand vacation home. Due to such incident, they had the "push factor" to educate and grow their team stronger in continuing IDW business legacy. Determined to to help 1 million home property owner to get their dream home equipped with beauty and perfection! Fast forward to 2020, the pandemic hit the world by storm and everything changed! However, both founders immediately shifted their main focus to give their very best in IDW Design & Build. Like the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! Due to the lock down measures happening everywhere, many people sought for home improvements as they were confined to their own private space at home and that was where IDW becomes the pioneer in designing a comfortable place to work, study and spend time with the family.

And there you have it! Because of all the challenges faced, the "New Normal" inspired IDW Design & Build to release their first book collection entitled IDW Design Collection in helping more homeowner to get their dream home! That's why I gotten a copy of it because it is going to be really useful for me for re-designing my new home in the super near future. Many people feel that designing is costly, even IDW design services started at only RM6k, still created some boundaries to some homeowners who wished to continue with them. But now with this new release of IDW Design Collection launched this year 2021, you can own this collection and view up to 200 exclusive designs in 3D complete with detail drawing, to suit different elements and lifestyle at every corner of the home you could dare dream of.