KUCHING: Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak, Ibrandium Resources and Anchr AI Labs Singapore have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to launch the Singapore-Sarawak AI Youth Ambassador Network (SAIYAN).
The initiative aims to strengthen youth collaboration between the two sides in the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem.
The MOU was signed at the closing of the second SG-Sarawak Friendship AI Business Design Hackathon 2026 at AFFIN Bank, Hikmah Exchange here today.
Anchr AI Labs’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Soh Wan Wei, said SAIYAN reflected a shared commitment to sustaining collaboration between Singapore and Sarawak in developing the youth AI ecosystem.
“There are a lot of very talented people here in Sarawak, with very strong diversity and heritage,” she said, adding it was a privilege for Singaporeans to learn from Sarawak while also bringing knowledge back to contribute to the state’s economy.
Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department of Sarawak (Corporate Affairs, Information and UKAS), Datuk Abdullah Saidol, said Sarawak’s digital economy push, which began around 2017 under the state’s leadership, had since grown to include the Sarawak Artificial Intelligence Centre (SAIC), the Sarawak Media Conference and the ADAM AI government assistant.
He said AI tools such as Kimi AI were already helping young entrepreneurs draft viable, bankable business proposals.
“This is where the bankers and senior entrepreneurs can share their experience on how to structure business ideas into something presentable – and most important, bankable,” he said, adding that financial literacy, risk management and governance remained key gaps among young entrepreneurs.
AZAM Sarawak’s Chairman, Datuk Ismawi Ismuni, said all 30 available places for the hackathon were filled within a day of registration opening, calling it a clear sign of youth interest in the AI economy.
He said AZAM, which turns 44 next year, would continue to evolve to remain relevant, citing the Kimi AI partnership – the first of its kind in the region – as an example of connecting Sarawakian youth to emerging technology and international opportunities.
