Idealistic and creative, Azlynda Jawawi's formative business experience was largely inspired by rapid transformations in the media industry. A serial entrepreneur who's recasting challenges into opportunities, Azlynda's entry into Sarawak's then untapped media industry, however, happened by accident.
Fuelled by the desire to meet her clients' multi-faceted needs for marketing and branding, Azlynda is a household name in the media industry. Today, Azlynda is widely known as an enterprising industry actor who's creating new value through her innovative media strategies.
“We're seeing broad change in the form of new media. When I first started my business, I started trading Chinese goods. As I managed to get more clients, I found out that they needed advertising services. That was a turning point for me as I saw Sarawak lacked advertising space," she says.
In 2010, Azlynda, an IT graduate at UTP, quit her job at the Sarawak Information System Sdn Bhd or SAINS to kick off her own business venture. She says, “One of the earliest challenges that I had to overcome was getting buy in from the state of Sarawak. Previously, there were not many out of home advertising platforms. The reason being, they wanted to ensure that Sarawak's natural charms remain intact."
She however had to work the angles before her ideas could be implemented. Her breakthrough came in 2013. In conjunction with Sarawak 50th Independence, her proposal for out-of-home LED advertising got the nod from the state government's highest hierarchy. For the first time, the state approved out-of-home LED advertising outlets.
She says, the transformational shifts in content distribution over the years have called for a remaking of the media industry. “It was something that was lacking in Sarawak. Now, my company, Wijasa Media Sdn Bhd holds the concession for more than 10 advertising sites in Sarawak."
She says, the public-private initiative allows brands to rent airtime to advertise their products and services at various strategic locations in Sarawak.
Given the reach of new media, her big-picture thinking turns out to be a formative experience that has helped prepare her for her serial entrepreneur journey. She says, “Scores of businesses are embroiled in the search for marketing solutions in Sarawak. I always try my best to provide cater to all of them," she says.
Following this, Azlynda's company, Wijasa Media has established an office in Shah Alam to bring more businesses to Sarawak. After realising that the media industry and advertising are the gateway to the next digital economy, Azlynda aspires to accelerate Sarawak's economic speed. Ultimately she says, her goal is to help businesses gain traction in the Borneo market. She says, “Previously, many businesses did not know how to tap into Sarawak's market."
According to Azlynda, about 90% of her clients are from the peninsular. Today, her company, Wijasa Media has parlayed an initial investment of more than RM1.5 million for the company's out-of-home LED buntings, Outled. Currently, the company's Outled platform consists of 51 LED bunting units throughout Sarawak.
In addition, Wijasa recently signed a collaboration with Orange ISC, a digital media company under the Carrat International Media Group. According to Azlynda, the collaboration gives Wijasa exclusive rights as the digital marketing agency for Sarawak. Going forward, Wijasa will market online applications using the latest Adobe Media Optimiser (AMO) technology.
In view of the digital economy, Azlynda says, the locus of her business activity, partly, is geared towards driving Sarawak's economic and talent potential. On an individual level, she says that her passion aligns with monetizable aspects of a flourishing new tech economy.
As a result, she was recently approached by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA). She says, “We need to create the talent for the future. Together with MARA, we will be creating an incubator and Wijasa will be the facilitator."
In one and a half years, Azlynda says that participants from the incubator programme will go out as entrepreneurs in the creative industry. In her bid to prepare Sarawak for the digital economy, Wijasa is also collaborating with Sead Studio for the production of Awang Kenit animation program, an animation studio for creative training.
She says, the spill over from improving media literacy among youth will ensure the industry's development continues unabated in Sarawak. Azlynda adds, by giving them access to tools, and possibly work that fits their interests and lifestyles, we can nurture local entrepreneurs to be early movers in the digital economy.
Over the years, Azlynda has garnered numerous awards, namely the Anugerah Usahawan MARA 2016 (AURA), SME Corp's Hall of Fame 2017, MARA's Anugerah Usahawan Mentor 2018 and Anugerah Pengusaha Cemerlang SEDC 2016.
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Published on 27 March 2020
