success and generosity

James and John Chivas came from humble beginnings, before finding success with the company that we know today as the ones behind Chivas Regal. Inspired by its founding brothers, Chivas believes that success and generosity should go hand-in- hand, and this led to the Chivas Venture global start-up competition. Every year since 2014, Chivas has invested US$1 million in start-ups that show they can improve lives.

This year’s Malaysian finals took place at Slate, one of the trendy event spaces of The Row, on Jalan Doraisamy. For guests, it was an opportunity to dine on canapes and enjoy whisky cocktails while cheering on local start-ups. For the four contestants, it was an opportunity for a big break — as long as they could sway the panel of judges. The criterion for success was a business model that could not only succeed, but also have a direct and measureable community impact.

At the night’s conclusion, and after a lengthy deliberation, the winner was announced to be Kim Lim from The Picha Project. The Picha Project is a food catering platform that allows marginalised refugee communities in Malaysia to cook and sell their authentic traditional cuisine, which provides them a sustainable means of income. Kim Lim will now join 26 other socially-conscious businesspeople from around the world for a course in entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford, before having a chance to compete for one of the five places at the global finals in Amsterdam.