7TH AUGUST 2022, KUALA LUMPUR – Four students from Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Iskandar, Johor, became Champion of the Teenage Entrepreneur Challenge 2022 organized by Ascendance, the international youth movement from Malaysia together with Wharton Interactive from the University of Pennslyvania in the United States of America. The challenge was also supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.
The champions are Nur Izzatun Najwa Binti Ahmad Daud, 17 (Chief Executive Officer); Muhd Syafiq Asyraf Bin Abdul Razak, 17 (Operations Manager); Ahmad Nurhasif Bin Rafiee, 17 (Creative Designer) and Muhammad Harith Adzri Bin Zamzuri, 17 (Sales Manager); won RM800 cash prize, certificate of achievement from Ascendance and Wharton Interactive as well as merchandises worth RM2,500 from Ascendance. They formed their start-up, Stoody by Super M, selling study and revision notes to school students, turning the idea into a profitable venture in just four months. 10% of their profit was also donated back to their school, which is a requirement for the challenge.
“We won first place! I am genuinely grateful for everything we have done together and will forever cherish this journey of entrepreneurship with Ascendance and Wharton Interactive. Thank you so much for everything,” said 17-year-old Nur Izzatun Najwa Binti Ahmad Daud, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Stoody by Super M.
Mathura Kannan, Programme Director of the Teenage Entrepreneur Challenge announcing the winners at the finale event.
2nd place went to Clover Merchandise by Clover from SMK Tinggi Bukit Mertajam in Penang comprising Sharma Dayine, Sarvina and Gowri. 3rd place was Rizqi from SMK Abdul Rahman Talib in Pahang comprising Mia Iman Soraya, Muhammad Ashraf Aiman, Riffa Azmiera and Nur Haziqa Aisya. 4th place went to Chapter by Victrix also from Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Iskandar in Johor comprising Nur Izzatun Najla, Fatin Nuriliman, Fatin Syamimi Bisyarah and Ain Syazwani. Lastly, in 5th place was Nature’s Heart from SMK Taman Daya in Johor and SMK St. George’s Girls School in Penang comprising Yoshini Anandaraj, Harshini Anandaraj and Veathaa Thandabaniy.
“The fact that you have already tapped into the power of what the Wharton School can bring to you in respect to skills, training, widening your scope and ideas so early on in your journey is incredibly wonderful. I also want to thank the parents for supporting you and having you involved in something like the Teenage Entrepreneur Challenge. Congratulations on being a participant and I can’t wait to see how your path unfolds,” said Sarah Toms, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Wharton Interactive, during yesterday’s virtual finale event.
Sarah Toms, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Wharton Interactive, sharing her message to the participants.
Wharton Interactive brings critical lessons such as entrepreneurship through alternate reality courses and hyper-realistic games that challenge the participants and help in decision making while receiving adaptive personalized feedback every step of the way. These Malaysian students who participated in the Teenage Entrepreneur Challenge were the first few in the world to experience and learn from this cutting-edge technology.
Participants undergoing an alternate reality course from Wharton Interactive, guided directly by the Executive Director of Wharton Interactive, Sarah Toms, as part of the Teenage Entrepreneur Challenge.
“It has been amazing to see a group of students carve out their time and take the effort to develop themselves and their social enterprises. I look forward to seeing them take away their lessons from this challenge to continue developing themselves and the community to make the world a better place,” said Mathura Kannan, Programme Director of the Teenage Entrepreneur Challenge.
Due to the overwhelming response from students, Ascendance is conducting a programme utilizing Wharton Interactive’s alternate reality modules to learn the basics of leadership and business for teenagers aged 13 to 19 in December 2022. Interested parties can contact Ascendance at +60 12-446 0002 for more details about the programme.
