What is RYSE?
Rapid Youth Success Entrepreneurship and Employability (RYSE) is a Malaysian research and social outreach project focused on empowering Malaysian youth through entrepreneurship and employability programs. Our primary goal is to promote upward mobility and reduce youth unemployment rates in Malaysia. We achieve this by exposing, upskilling, and supporting youth through various programs.
Since 2019, RYSE has partnered with Citi Foundation to deliver entrepreneurship and employability programs, directly and indirectly benefiting 7,038 Malaysian youth. RYSE leveraged the expertise of ASB and MIT in entrepreneurship and innovation while also collaborating with local partners and successful entrepreneurs to equip youth with valuable, transferable soft skills.
At RYSE, we recognise that closing the soft skills gap is a critical step in addressing youth underemployment. Our programs are designed to build the confidence, communication skills, and professional networks that young people need to access better jobs and higher wages. While there are many factors for why youth underemployment persists, from systemic issues like STEM education-to-employment mismatches, RYSE focuses on what can be changed now: facilitating employment opportunities for young people through community-driven vocational training.
Vision
Our vision is to create upward mobility for Malaysian youth.
Mission
The mission statements of RYSE are:
01
Expose youth to stories and experiences in entrepreneurship and employability.
02
Upskill youth with entrepreneurship knowledge, transferrable soft skills, and entrepreneurial mindsets.
03
Support youth with seed funding, networks and/or paid work placements to kickstart their careers.
04
Contribute to Malaysia’s research on entrepreneurship and youth employability.
05
Highlight the current trends in entrepreneurship and employability with academic research.
Team
Ainna Syahirrah
Program Manager, RYSEÂ
Iman Haiqal
Marketing Associate, RYSEÂ
Zakirah Azhar
Program Associate, RYSEÂ
Get in Touch with RYSE
RYSE’S Impact So Far
Our Impact Report (2019 – 2021)
Ongoing/Upcoming Programmes (in 2025)
RYSE WITH US! 3.0
RYSE with Us! is a series of mini webinars and workshops to upskill Malaysian youth with transferable soft skills.
- Open to All Malaysians
Topics covered:
- Facing Failure
- Starting a Business Young
- Membina Masa Depan Kewangan yang Kukuh bersama KWSP
- Navigating the New Age of Employability and MORE!
Past Programmes (2024)
RYSE With Us! 4.0
RYSE with Us! is a series of mini webinars and workshops to upskill Malaysian youth with transferable soft skills.
- In 2024, a total of 157 participants were upskilled, and 78.3% were youths.
10 Topics covered:
- Entrepreneurship 101
- How to Craft an Effective Cover Letter
- How to Self-Motivate Yourself Towards Your Goals
- How to understand Case Studies for your Interviews
- Money Matters: Financial Literacy with AKPK
- How to build your Portfolio with Canva
- Leading in a Diverse Workplace with TFM
- Rahsia Jimat Cukai with LHDN
- Job Interview Preparation
- Crafting & Optimising Your Designs for Social Media
RYSE To Work 2024
RYSE To Work is an employability programme to provide underemployed and unemployed Malaysian graduates with soft-skills training, social support, career mentoring and mental health counselling to directly support their efforts to achieve full-time employment.
Who are we looking for?
- Malaysian
- Has basic Microsoft Office skills
- Has a Bachelor’s Degree or Diploma from any background from any university.
- Strong desire to learn and grow professionally
- Graduated in 2020 onwards
Creative Competition: Entrepreneurial Journeys
Entrepreneurial Journeys is a photography contest for Malaysian youth, encouraging participants to tell their entrepreneurial stories through the lens. The participants stood a chance to win up to RM3,000 and a chance to be published in the Entrepreneurial Journey’s photobook.
A photography workshop by Yusof Madi was also conducted to equip participants with essential skills and techniques to help them bring their entrepreneurial journeys to life through compelling visuals.
RYSE Boot Camp 2024
RYSE Boot Camp is a five-day programme designed to provide participants with an overview of small business development and entrepreneurial skills. A total of 18 schools in Sandakan participated in the programme, each sending one or two teams of up to 5 students per team.
Testimonials from students
- “What I like about the RYSE Bootcamp is that it helps to train our public speaking skills. Before this, my public speaking technique wasn’t very good, but I learned that public speaking is an essential aspect for convincing customers about the products we create.” – Andrianoalvyn Jexter Jaulis, SMK Segaliud
Testimonials from teachers
- “From what I’ve observed, after the RYSE program, the students’ communication skills have greatly improved. They now present their ideas clearly and confidently. Their sentences are more structured and organised, and they speak calmly without rushing. They no longer mumble but communicate in a way that is easy to understand. This improvement is especially noticeable when they are presenting in class.”
– Cikgu Mohd Firdaus bin Durus, SMK Libaran
Past Programmes (2023)
RYSE With Us! 3.0 Part 2
RYSE with Us! is a series of mini webinars and workshops to upskill Malaysian youth with transferable soft skills.
- Open to all Malaysians.
Topics covered:
- The SMART Way to Reach Your Goals
- The Art of Speech Writing
- Social Styles in the Workplace
- TikTok Marketing
RYSE Boot Camp 2023
RYSE Boot Camps are three-day boot camps that give participants an overview of small business-building and entrepreneurial skills. This round of boot camps targeted four schools in Sandakan, Sabah: SMK Batu Sapi, SMK Elopura 2, SMK Sandakan, and SMK St. Mary.
Testimonials from teachers
- “A very engaging and valuable experience for the students. Students were able to unearth their talents and abilities to become more extraordinary and skilled. The content was dense but fun, allowing for a very satisfactory outcome.”
– Cikgu Mariani, Teacher, SMK Batu Sapi
Past Programmes (2022)
RYSE With Us 3.0 Part 1
RYSE with Us! is a series of mini webinars and workshops to upskill Malaysian youth with transferable soft skills.
- Open to All Malaysians
Topics covered:
- Design 101 with Canva
- How to Manage Your Time
- Understanding Yourself Professionally and MORE!
RYSE TO WORK 2022
RYSE To Work is an employability programme to provide fresh graduates with soft-skills training, support and a PAID work placement in an organisation focusing on social impact.Â
Who are we looking for?
- Malaysian
- Fresh graduates looking for a job
- Curious about social impact
- Degree holder of any subject
- Graduated in 2020 or 2021 from a Malaysian university
RYSE ONLINE 2022
RYSE Online 2022 is a FREE online course that equips you with the basics of entrepreneurship.
Course Ends: 17th October 2022, 12PM
- Step-by-step guide on a journey of creating your own small business
- Easy-to-follow videos and taught in simple English
- Learn at your own timing
- Stand a chance to win up to RM2,500 by submitting a business pitch and proposal! *T&C applies
- Open to all Malaysians at no charge
Topics covered:Â
- Finding your business ideaÂ
- Industry AnalysisÂ
- MarketingÂ
- Customer Segments & MORE!Â
RYSE IN KUCHING
RYSE organised physical RYSE with Us! Workshops, Comic Workshops and held Diam² Ubi Berisi book club in Kuching, Sarawak. Workshops was done in local colleges and the state library for Sarawakian youths interested to learn more about soft skills. Diam² Ubi Berisi book club was done in local high schools to spark conversations of entrepreneurship among high schoolers.Â
Workshop topics include:Â
- Entrepreneurship 101
- Branding & Marketing 101Â
- Transitioning to the Workplace
- Understanding & Brand Yourself Professionally
- Many more
KECIL² CILI PADI COMPETITION
Kecil² Cili Padi is a comic competition for Malaysian youth to tell stories about youth employment through comics. We want to highlight experiences and realities of youth employment in Malaysia and show that though young people may be seen as ‘small’, they can still be brave to speak up and create their own futures. Participants stand a chance to win up to RM3,000 and a chance to be published in Kecil² Cili Padi Anthology.
Past Programmes (2021)
RYSE ONLINE 2021
RYSE Online 2021 is a FREE online course that equips you with the basics of entrepreneurship.
Course Period: 26th February to 30th July 2021
- Step-by-step guide on a journey of creating your own small business.
- Easy-to-follow videos and taught in simple English.
- Learn at your own timing.
- Stand a chance to win up to RM10,000 seed funding, coaching, and certificates for selected participants! *T&C applies
- Open to all Malaysians at no charge
READY, SET, RYSE 2.0
Ready, Set, RYSE 2.0 is an event hosted by RYSE to grow Malaysian youth’s knowledge on entrepreneurship.
We are partnering with local micro-entrepreneurs to bring a series of talks in hopes of raising awareness of the different areas of entrepreneurship in Malaysia. We hope that this would expose Malaysian youth to the world of entrepreneurship.Â
Sessions:
Forum about Women in Entrepreneurship: Atiyah from Jaroom, Alia from Asial and Erica from Ace Edventure Studio (10AM, Zoom Webinar)
Women in Entrepreneurship: Shedding light on the experiences of women entrepreneurs in MalaysiaForum about Social Enterprises: Lai from Seven Tea One, Ezzati from Teman Malaysia and Bernard from Dawn Adaptive (2PM, Zoom Webinar)
Understanding the world of Social Enterprises: Introducing the world of business mixed with social impact in MalaysiaInstagram Live Discussion with a young Entrepreneur: Speak to a youth! (4PM, Instagram Live)
Entrepreneurship through the lens of the youth
THE SPIRIT OF MALAYSIAN TAUKES COMPETITION
The Spirit of Malaysian Taukes Competition is a postcard design competition for Malaysian youth to promote the spirit of Malaysian entrepreneurship. Through this competition, youth will be able to understand the dedication and passion required to be an entrepreneur. We hope that they will look up to these Taukes as positive role models. Participants stand a chance to win up to RM650 worth of cash prizes and limited edition merchandise.
RYSE WITH US! 1.0 & 2.0
RYSE with Us! is a series of mini webinars and workshops to upskill Malaysian youth with transferrable skills, especially for those who are interested to learn but may find it difficult to commit to programmes with longer duration.Â
Past Programmes (2020)
RYSE ONLINE 2020
RYSE Online is a FREE beginners online course that aims to equip young people with the skills needed to plan, design and operate their own business from scratch.Â
Course Period: 1st June to 31st October 2020
- FREE for everyone
- Learn at your own pace
- Short video lesson and relatable case studies
- Chance to win seed funding* up to RM10,000! (T&C applies)
DIAM² UBI BERISI COMPETITION
Diam² Ubi Berisi is a competition for Malaysian youth to tell stories about entrepreneurship through poetry, short stories, and comics. We want to showcase experiences and realities of small businesses in Malaysia. Participants stand a chance to win up to RM3,000 and a chance to be published in Diam² Ubi Berisi Anthology.
READY, SET, RYSE 1.0
Ready, Set, RYSE 1.0 is an event hosted by RYSE to grow Malaysian youth’s knowledge on entrepreneurship.
We partnered with various local micro-entrepreneurs and experts to bring a series of online events and webinars in hopes of inspiring Malaysian youth to start small businesses and equipping them with practical tools and mindsets needed to do so!
Sessions:
Discussion Forum with Malaysian Entrepreneurs: Dayana, Edmond and Azlan
An Entrepreneur’s Starter Pack: What do you really need to start a small business?Webinar with Izwan from Izwan & Partners
5 legal tips you should know before starting a business!Webinar with Paul from Flipidea
How to refine intuitive ideas by learning from failure
This is a series of sharing sessions where small but mighty business owners share about their motivation to start their own businesses and the story behind their journey.
Tauke Talks Bazaar 2022
A weekend-long bazaar showcasing Malaysian Taukes. The bazaar comprises local businesses that have been interviewed under the Tauke Talks brand and RYSE’s incubated business from RYSE Online cohort of the year 2021. The bazaar hosts activities, such as booths selling goods, a quiz about entrepreneurship and workshops.
Date: 24th – 25th September 2022
Click below to watch the RYSE Team reviewing some products at the bazaar:
