Rise of Social Entrepreneurship In Malaysia: Saora Industries Advancing Malaysia’s Social Welfare with Safe Drinking Water and Clean Energy
The concept of social entrepreneurship has been around for many years, with organisations like Teach For Malaysia and Extraordinary People Impacting Community (EPIC) founded with the sole purpose of solving social problems and creating a positive impact.
In recent years, this concept has slowly evolved into a trending business model that produces progressive results. It is a hybrid structure that meshes business with governmental and social organisations, aiming to bring about transformative changes in society. Today, social entrepreneurs stand as agents of change – on a mission to create and sustain benefits that go beyond private value.
One such organisation in Malaysia that has been relentlessly creating solutions to eradicate issues encompassing the social and environmental sector is Saora Industries.
Bringing Safe Drinking Water and Sustainable Energy
Established in August 2014, Saora Industries is a social enterprise that started based on the aspiration to bring safe drinking water and energy to areas that need it the most.
Since its founding, the company’s core value has always been about utilising cutting-edge technologies to provide solutions that are both environmentally and economically sustainable. From geographically remote locations to countries stricken by poverty or natural disasters, Saora Industries seeks to create possibilities without borders.
Over the years, Saora has introduced two key solutions -solar-powered water filters and modular solar lighting systems.
Installed in rural areas, Saora’s water filters fulfil the need for clean and safe drinking water, eliminating the need to filter and boil raw water. As a result, carbon footprint, expenses to prepare the drinking water beforehand, and treatment for water-borne diseases, have been reduced drastically.
Saora’s modular lighting systems, on the other hand, can be customised to the needs of different households. Reliable, robust and easy to install, these systems are safe, affordable, sustainable and environmentally friendly.
“No man is an island. Everything is interconnected, affecting one another. Each action against the environment has a rippling effect, and the damage is far more than we can ever imagine. Every aspect of the environment is important, whether we are staying in the urban sprawl of the Klang Valley, on the cool terrains of Cameron Highlands, or in the luscious forests of Sarawak,” says Operating Director of Saora, Ms. Farzena Balan.
Plunging Into Philanthropy With Saora+
Over time, as their operations expanded, Saora realised that it needed to evolve and adapt to the needs of its partners and the current market. There needed to be a separation between the technical, research and development (R&D) and the commercialisation aspects of Saora Industries. To maintain its laser focus and continue developing all areas of the business strategically, Saora Industries decided to create its philanthropic arm, Saora+ in March 2021. As a result, they were able to fortify their strengths and grow the business exponentially.
“With the introduction of Saora+, we can work together with government agencies, corporate organisations, NGOs and subject matter experts to maximize the benefits and impacts of each holistic program that we carry out – Solar Lighting, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, and Empowerment and Socio-economic programs,” said Farzena.
She further added, “ We are super excited by all the support and affirmation we have received from our partners and beneficiaries, and look forward to working with more organisations and individuals, producing more impactful and positive results.”
Rise of Greener and Sustainable Solutions in Malaysia
Green technology has been around for a while but, with the growing awareness about environmental issues, these technologies are finally gaining mainstream adoption and attention. Be it individuals, SM, or bigger corporations, the understanding of the importance of such adoption has always been there.
Over the past 5 years, Malaysia has seen an increase in the adoption of greener solutions. Today, it is more common to see medium and large market players incorporating environmentally friendly practices in their current operations, switching to energy-saving technologies and thus reducing their carbon footprint.
Be it for the organisation’s image, product branding, employees interests or a genuine alignment of the corporate culture to save the environment, these organisations must be applauded for their contributions.
However, in terms of SMEs and individuals, adopting green technology is a challenge, as it involves bigger investments in terms of time, human resources, and most importantly, the capital. This is because, after the initial adoption, there is still the maintenance of the system, and technological updates to keep abreast of.
Building certified eco-friendly structures, switching from conventional electric supply to a solar-powered setup or installing an independent wastewater recycling system require investments, specialists, licenses that are not easily accessible to most individuals and SMEs. Despite these challenges, it is very heartening to see SMEs continue expressing a constant interest in exploring greener solutions.
Farzena surmises that although the road toward sustainability is filled with challenges, Malaysia is definitely on its way to becoming a greener nation.
Striving Through the Pandemic
Despite spending most of 2020 under lockdown, Saora managed to complete all the projects that they were commissioned with, completing within the stipulated time frame, achieved through the team’s continuous resilience and perseverance.
“The pandemic affected everything. As a business, we downshifted our gears in our project implementations, both commercially and philanthropically. We had to decide on taking risks with certain projects and at the same time, continue doing what we do best – solar lighting and WASH-related projects. We had plans to kick off production of local components of our water filtration and solar lighting system, but the untimely movement restriction orders, global delays in logistics and slowing down of the overall economy caused us to pull the brakes. We still have our sights set on it. We are still growing amidst this pandemic, just not exactly the way we had planned it to be,” said Farzena about the struggles brought on by the pandemic.
“As we focus on keeping the business on track especially in managing resources, risk tolerance and being resilient, being agile enables the organisation to take the swift necessary actions to adjust to unforeseen challenges brought about by this pandemic,” said Farzena about the advantages of being young players in the industry.
Saora Industries managed to streamline its operations, directly reducing their costs, while maintaining the company’s efficiency and productivity.
Going Green with IoT
There appears to be an upward trend in the general demand for smart technologies supporting the renewable energy industry, reducing waste, and efficient use of natural resources. Among the many technologies that have begun gaining traction in the green industry include the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart sensors, and mobile devices. These tools not only enhance an organisation’s efficiency but also provide an endless supply of possibilities for SMEs to adopt greener solutions.
In support of Malaysia moving towards a greener future, the government has also announced a string of incentives to support this direction in March of this year and in July, launched the Fourth Industrial Revolution policy 4.0.
“These Government led agendas are both timely and complementary to each other, the industry and the Malaysian society at large. In line with this, we are also starting out on a path towards producing opportunities for agile environmentally concerned SMEs, enabling them to kick-start their growth in the Industrial Revolution,” commented Farzena about Saora’s next phase of growth.
Aiming to champion affordable and green solutions while boosting the local economy, Saora Industries aim to shift the assembly and production of their components locally. This will provide them quick access to products, and carry out more R&D upgrades, improvements and innovations.
