LAZADA x APU ASBX BUSINESS CHALLENGE EMPOWERS YOUNG INNOVATORS AND NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS

Fourteen students from the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU) were announced as the winners of Lazada Malaysia x APU ASBX Business Challenge that took place on 22 June 2023. The programme was designed to provide a dynamic platform to foster greater entrepreneurial spirit and business-oriented analytical thinking among the students while opening the door for them to gain a greater understanding of the eCommerce industry from an online selling perspective.

Lazada Malaysia x ASBX Business Challenge is one of the initiatives under the Enterprise@APU programme called ASBX (APU SandBox). It kicked off with the first workshop in April 2023, conducted via a hybrid mode of online and face-to-face interactions over two months, leading up to the Business Challenge finale by the end of June 2023. Open to all APU students, 21 teams comprised of 105 students from the School of Business, School of Marketing and Management, School of Engineering and Enterprise Academic Fellows participated in the challenge.

During the workshop and leading up to the Business Challenge finale, the students were coached to solve real-life industry challenges and address problem statements within the scope of eCommerce entrepreneurship, omnichannel ecosystem and marketing by their mentors at APU – Prof. Dr. Vinesh Thiruchelvam, Chief Enterprise and Innovation Officer; Dr. Beh Ching Yew, Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Professor Dr. Angelina Yee, Director of Research and Enterprise; Dr. Stephen Poon, Chair & Head of Integrated Sustainability and Urban Creativity; Jasminder Kaur, Senior Lecturer and Certified Trainer, School of Business, alongside Iv Ho, Vice President of Seller Engagement, Lazada Malaysia; Lim Yong Keat, Head of Seller Tools and Management, Lazada Malaysia; and Ashleigh Ng, Head of Seller Brand Marketing, Seller Engagement, Lazada Malaysia.

Through the workshop and leading up to the business challenge finale, the participating students were encouraged to optimise the latest technology as a way to enhance Lazada’s seller journey. The students also presented intriguing case studies such as; blockchain to reduce logistics complexity, solutions to help increase Lazada seller’s store performance, AI bot to aid review and more.

During the finale, Team Bargain pitched the best Business Challenge idea of ‘Integrated Young Entrepreneurs Community Platform with AI-Enabled Imaging’, and they emerged as the top champion. Team Underrated clinched the spot as first runner-up with the idea ‘Gamified Seller Platform and Rewards System to Motivate Seller Participation on eCommerce Platform’, while Team The Hustlers was the second runner-up with the idea ‘Embedding Artificial Intelligence to Personalise Sales for Digitally Savvy and Active Customers on Social Media’. The three winning teams took home a total of RM1,500 in cash prizes and special Lazada University merchandise.

“Our team was tremendously excited when we heard that Lazada will be the integral focus of our Business Challenge. The workshop and the valuable coaching lessons that we gained from Lazada and our APU mentors were truly insightful, and it broadened our horizons and exposed us to many facets of eCommerce,” shared Trishah Rajendran, Viman Vinesh, Arvin Ravindran and Pua Zhe Yong of Team Bargain.

The three winning teams of the Lazada Malaysia x APU ASBX Business Challenge

Driven by the long-term objective of empowering the local youth and future-ready talents, value-added initiatives by Lazada that promote strategic collaborations between higher learning institutions and companies such as this will continue to support and sprout the next generation of young entrepreneurs. In 2022, Lazada also launched Lazada4Youth via a 5-year MoU with Universiti Teknologi Mara. Lazada4Youth workshops have been organised across UiTM campuses to engage and expose more youth to the opportunity within digital commerce and unlock their potential as online entrepreneurs.

In a digital era where eCommerce is a powerful equaliser, the young generation will have at their disposal affordable and accessible digital empowerment, enabled by Lazada – Southeast Asia’s eCommerce pioneer, supporting them to grow and thrive in business and commerce. This will be an impactful undertaking, especially with the projected growth of Malaysia's eCommerce market, estimated to reach around RM47 billion by 2023.

To find out more about the exciting initiatives and opportunities offered by Lazada University for aspiring entrepreneurs here in Malaysia, click here.