Participants Profile

Brief history of the company (when was it established, how big is the company)? - Mereka's story begins on 19th July 2017 as the first fully integrated Makerspace with ample educational facilities, created by Biji-biji Initiative, a social enterprise that champions sustainable living. We are recognized for makerspace education, innovative training programs and encompassing real-world applications, introduction and adoption of digital technology, and environmental and social governance (ESG). We are unlocking assets available at various creative hubs across ASEAN, tapping into network effects and social-cultural value. In 2022, Mereka's team size has grown into 52 full-time employees. Which markets is the company active in? - Local Malaysian market and the ASEAN region market. We serve international development agencies, foreign and local government agencies, corporate foundations, corporate clients, schools and education institutions with designing and implementing in-depth and low-touch training programs for individual learners and organizations. What are the services do you offer to help foreign companies enter your local market? -We partner up with foreign companies to be (1) the funder, programme partner or participating organization to upskill youth, SMBs, NGOs, universities and government agency to be equipped with the skills and demands of the 21st century (2) an ecosystem enabler in the Creative Economy, connecting local resources to be booked by the general public across the different Creative, Technology & Education Hubs. We collaborate with (1) US Embassy for Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region and promote cross-border cooperation to solve regional and global challenges, (2) ASEAN Foundation for meaningful Youth Engagement through Volunteerism - Total of 11 empowering Youth Across ASEAN Programme (EYAAP) Volunteers to be the supporting mentors, co-trainers and to enhance modules for our digital entrepreneur programme, (3) British Council to develop and implement a strategy to expand, curate, activate, socialise, and sustain the existing platform and transform it into a networking and collaboration platform between UK, Malaysia and other SEA hubs and practitioners from all creative sectors and arts forms. If you are a distributor, which products do you buy from abroad and what are your sales channels i.e., supermarkets, health shops, hotels, petrol stations, department stores, B2B, B2C? - Not applicable. We are a service provider/consultancy business. Bonus question! What makes you different from competition or what are the advantages of using your company's services? - You stand on the shoulders of giants - we give you access to an exclusive expert network, dynamic maker space and innovative training programs to unlock your potential that will shape the future. Youth and adults can benefit from our synchronous and asynchronous courses and training on the digital economy, employability, and income generation. The SMBs, corporate and NGO organizations are provided access and network to our talent pool through career placement and partnership. With the collaboration and networking on our Mereka digital platform, we can bring together organizations and communities to grow their business and digital skills, access content, resources, and experts, and unlock their societal values.