Enterprise Explores

For many of us, it’s hard to say NO especially in the workplace environment. While the pandemic has liberalised work culture by allowing WFH or remote working, it has also blurred boundaries between personal life and work. So how do we get back some semblance of control in all this? How can we benefit from setting up work boundaries? We speak to Sheila Singam, Managing Partner at Human Equation to...

The ‘Great Resignation’ is a global phenomenon that came from employees deciding to rethink and reprioritize their mindset and approach to work. But according to a survey conducted by Robert Walters, this has not quite caught on in Southeast Asia. The interesting question to ask here is why? Ai Rene Tan, country manager of Robert Walters Malaysia joins us to give us an insight into the survey and...

The travel industry has started to flex its wings as most countries around the world have begun relaxing their restrictions to welcome more travellers. We speak to Hannah Pearson, founder of Pear Anderson as she updates us on the happenings within the travel industry in the 3rd quarter of the year and what to expect moving towards the final stretch of the year. Image Credit: Shutterstock | Iryna R...

According to the ‘Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial' survey conducted by Deloitte, Malaysian employers are saying it is a challenge to hire and retain Gen Z and millennial talents due to the ‘Great Resignation’. But what is the actual cause behind these challenges? To get a deeper dive into this issue, we speak to Lee Yun-Han, Consulting Director of Deloitte Southeast Asia to discuss how businesses...

It is reported that some meetings not only waste time but also a LOT of money - US$100mil (RM461.15mil) to be exact for big companies. So, is it time we ditch meetings and just use email instead? Helen Langhammer, Director of Aspire Consulting shares her thoughts. Image Credit: Shutterstock | Andrey_Popov See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Digital transformation has been talked about a lot these days as more businesses and organisations identify the need to digitise themselves to stay competitive. So what are the factors driving this push and how can Malaysia’s economy benefit from all this? We speak with Raymond Siva, Head of Digital Investment at MDEC to understand Malaysia’s digital push and also on how it’ll drive Malaysia’s eco...

Helping employers rethink and strategize on flexible work arrangements moving forward is vital for the workplace. So what is the flexible work arrangements (FWA) initiative all about and how can employers benefit from it? Thomas Mathew, Group CEO of TalentCorp Malaysia joins us to provide an insight into the FWA landscape in Malaysia and TalentCorp’s initiative to encourage its adoption. Image Cre...

The recently announced Budget 2023 has been put forward amidst ongoing uncertainty surrounding a few factors. With the dissolution of parliament on the 10th of October, we discussed the tabled budget to get an idea of how SMEs stand to benefit from it. We also look towards what the budget might look like the next time it’s retabled after GE15. Keegan Ong, Tax Executive Director, PwC and Yap Sau Sh...

Budget 2023 is set to be tabled with the theme “Strengthening Recovery, Facilitating Reforms Towards Sustainable Socio-Economic Resilience of Keluarga Malaysia”. Along this vein, we decided to take a hard look at Malaysia’s current employability rate and job market with a check in on our startup ecosystem with Derek Toh, Founder and CEO of Hiredly.    Brought to you by Mah Sing. Reinvent...

Intelligent Manufacturing or Smart manufacturing started as a concept roughly over 10 years ago. But how many of us actually know what that means and how it aligns with the concepts of Industry 4.0? We’ll be speaking to Saj Kumar, Regional Business Lead for Manufacturing at Microsoft Asia to get a background into what all this means and also a look into how it is changing the manufacturing landsca...

The struggles that come along with starting new ventures and businesses often go undiscussed. So what should you prepare for when embarking on the path of entrepreneurship? Yap Sue Yii, serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Komuniti Tukang Jahit, joins us to share the truths behind founding startups and discuss how to overcome the challenges that are inherent when starting a new business.&nbs...

The recent ‘8th Business Sentiment Survey’ by the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) reinforced ASEAN’s position as a strong trading partner for the EU. Chris Humphrey, Executive Director of the EU-ASEAN Business Council, unpacks what makes the ASEAN region a prime location for EU businesses. Image Credit: Shutterstock | Onlyshaynestockphoto See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are our youths equipped with sufficient digital skills when most businesses are moving towards digitalisation? Together with the recent study by DOSM that shows nearly 70 percent of our SPM graduates not wanting to further their studies in tertiary education, what should we be doing to address this? Dr. Nagulendran a/l Kangayatkarasu, Deputy Secretary General at MOSTI joins us to discuss the facto...

With the mergers and acquisition culture becoming more common in today’s business environment, many business owners and startup entrepreneurs need to seriously consider having an exit strategy in place just in case. But with many ways to go about it and different factors to consider, where do they even begin? Ray Chou, CEO of Infront Consulting Group, Master Business Coach at OwnersCircle and Pres...

In today’s competitive work environment, more people are foregoing their vacations or paid time off to squeeze in more responsibilities and work. But is this a productive move in any way? What are the hidden dangers in pushing oneself this way? We are joined by Dr Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan, Dean of Psychology and Social Sciences at the University of Cyberjaya, to help us understand the motivati...

The digital nomad lifestyle is slowly gaining traction especially post-pandemic with many people embracing this unique approach to work. Malaysia has also recently announced the ‘DE Rantau’ program in a bid to capitalise on the growing economic potential from being the destination of choice for digital nomads. So what is a digital nomad and what’s driving the growth behind this lifestyle adoption?...

More and more of our youths are slipping into the low-skills, low-wage trap. What does this all mean? What are the factors behind this and are we doing enough to address this issue? We speak with Calvin Cheng, Senior Analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia to understand the issue and discuss the possible solutions Malaysia should be looking into.  Image...

For some entrepreneurs, having one venture is not enough. They are always looking towards the next ‘big idea’ that sparks their interests and to challenge themselves. To understand what it takes to run multiple ventures without running out of steam, we speak with Arieni Ritzal, a serial entrepreneur with multiple F&B businesses under her belt. Image Credit: Shutterstock | LanKogal See omnystud...

The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has recently issued a guideline to provide clarity on the tax status of digital currencies and digital tokens. With Malaysian crypto ownership estimated to be 20 percent above the global average of 15 percent, this could be a sizable tax revenue if done correctly. Keegan Ong, Tax Executive Director from PwC joins us to dissect the contents of this guideline and what...

Business insurance is often overlooked or low on the company’s priority list as it involves expenditure without direct tangible returns. The various myths and misconceptions surrounding business insurance also does not help with its uptake numbers. Ng Kok Kheng, CEO of Great Eastern General Insurance (Malaysia) and deputy chairman of the Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) joins us to answer the...

What’s needed to stay ahead in today’s business environment filled with disruptive innovation? According to a statistic on the Harvard Business Review, about half of the companies on the Fortune 500 list have gone bankrupt, been acquired, or ceased to exist. The message is clear: businesses need to adapt and innovate. Bikesh Lakhmichand, CEO of 1337 Ventures, joins us to unpack what corporate inno...

You might think Gen Z, being the generation that grew up at an era where digital technology was developing at a rapid pace, would be the generation that embraces work from home or hybrid work arrangements. You would be mistaken. Gen Zs are actually showing a keen interest to return to the physical office. To understand this strange phenomenon and why this is happening, we speak with Mallory Loone,...

Most countries within the Southeast Asian region have begun reopening with further easing of restrictions. This means the runway is once again open for the tourism and travel industry to chart a course for recovery. We hear from Hannah Pearson, founder of Pear Anderson as she gives us the latest update on this sector that’s an important part of many SEA countries’ GDP numbers and how she sees the...

After three consecutive OPR hikes in a matter of 4 months, have our inflationary pressures really decreased? We have discussed how inflation impacts the business environment, but there also needs to be a look into how rising overnight policy rates can affect businesses in particular SMEs and MSMEs. To help us understand how the OPR hikes can affect Malaysian businesses, we speak to Carmelo Ferlito...

What does spirituality mean in the context of a workplace? As human beings, we tend to focus on the tangible such as the physical and material plane instead of the spiritual side of things. But why is spirituality important in the modern work environment? Sheila Singam, managing partner at Human Equation joins us to discuss what workplace spirituality means and how it can play a positive role in a...