Entrepreneur Feature: Dego

In the age of instant gratification, speed means everything and Dego , Malaysia’s first bike e-hailing service provider, knows the true meaning of that. In case you didn’t know, Dego stands for ‘Do Everything On The Go’ which seems to be what the future is shaping to be and is also Dego's motto.

CEO Nabil Feisal Bamadhaj recalls how the tech firm was named and why it has a deeper meaning to him. “My mother helped me in coming up with the name, so personally it means a lot to me as my parents have been a major part of my progress. One of the things they taught me was to always think positive and do things on the go.” Interesting fact: Dego Malaysia was previously known as MyInteractiveLab.

Services were launched in November 2016 with 5,000 riders being recruited at that time. Unfortunately, they were discontinued on the order of the Transport Ministry citing safety concerns. More than three years later, the yellow and blue colours of Dego are now back on the streets of KL and have been operating since the first day of the new decade. Talk about starting the year with a bang!

What’s in the pipeline for 2020? “The plan is to create and generate more job opportunities in the sharing economy for Malaysians by connecting more people to the public transport system,” Nabil states. The most important part of the delivery and logistics sector that Dego is in? The people. “I want to try to help empower them through technology,” states Nabil.

Despite only being a few months into a new era of doing everything on the go, Nabil is calculatedly optimistic of Dego’s ambitions. “I hope Dego’s technology will help a lot of people in many ways to grow and reach their full potential. If this can be done well in Malaysia, maybe Dego has potential outside of Malaysia in five years,” he adds.

Principles are always vital in a company’s growth, acting as pillars to one’s success. For Dego, sincerity is what Nabil operates the company on, and a proven recipe for success is discipline. He begins every day by waking up early, preparing a simple breakfast followed by prayers, and then begins to organise his thoughts and priorities before taking on the trials of the new dawn.

Despite the highs and lows of the company, Nabil is enjoying every step of the way. His favourite part of his entrepreneurship journey? Everything. “I appreciate all the lows and highs in my job from all the administrative to the managerial aspects.”

If there’s one thing to take away from his experience thus far is that everyone lives once. “If I could go back in time, I would tell my former self that everyone lives once so make every minute as valuable as you can for yourself and others around you. Don’t be distracted by the problems or challenges in life.”