Womenpreneur Asia

In this episode, I spoke to Shadaitul Intan, the director of Profound Learning Solutions Sdn Bhd, a training consultancy based in Malaysia.  Intan, as she is fondly known, grew up in a small town of Batu Gajah, Perak but was encouraged by her father to be who she wanted to be. She admitted she once drove a Ferrari that wasn't hers and she even set up a daycare centre prior to setting up this train...

In this episode, I am speaking to Sophie Ha Tu Nguyen from Vietnam who is the co-founder and CEO of Skabella, a children's clothing business. Sophie's business was hit particularly hard by the pandemic as hers was a retail business, dependent on foot traffic in the mall. What was supposed to be the worst possible year for her turned out to be a year of possibilities and renewed hope. She had to ma...

Episode 3 is where I speak to Susan Chee who is the founder and director of Criteria & Connections in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her business helps companies create memorable events, launches and conferences. Some of her noteworthy events include: Managing the itinerary of the richest man in the world who was visiting Malaysia but she didn't even have time to gawk at him or request a photograph! ...

Episode 2 of Season 2 features Rowena Morais who is a Malaysian entrepreneur with a strong communication slant to her work. Rowena is the editor, writer, publisher and programme director at Vertical Distinct with offices in Malaysia and Australia. She started her entrepreneurial journey in the most unusual way - she got herself a working visa to New Zealand which later landed her in Australia whic...

Welcome to Season 2 of Womenpreneur Asia! For the next 13 weeks, we will feature 13 incredibly inspiring yet down-to-earth women in business across Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and India. A new episode airs every Friday. In this first episode of Season 2, I am excited to present to you a smart and successful Malaysian entrepreneur, See Wai Hun.  Wai Hun is the CEO and co-founder of Juristech, a Ma...

This is a bonus episode where Anushia Kandasamy (of Episode 4) decides to reverse the roles and ask me questions! She did a brilliant job as she made me talk about what mattered to me the most and how I ended up doing what I do now. I also had many a-ha moments during the course of our interview as I realised how stories have been a major influence in my life even from a young age. I spoke about b...

This is the episode where I will tell you more about who I am and why I am doing what I am doing right now. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur; all I wanted to do was to do well in my career. I never thought I was a risk-taker. I've been truly blessed and grateful for the amazing opportunities that have come my way. I've co-founded the business I am and I really enjoy helping our clients. I've a...

Anja Juliah Abu Bakar is the founder of Athena Holdings Sdn Bhd (formerly Blubear Holdings Sdn Bhd), a Malaysian social enterprise that sells washable cloth pads and other earth-friendly products.  Her journey as an entrepreneur has many twists and turns, some hilarious and others quite heartbreaking. But Anja never gives up. She is one determined woman. She was so determined that she decided to g...

Rina is a Malaysian entrepreneur who started out as a computer scientist and the classic example of a woman who is able to spot opportunities and turn them into success.  Presently, she is an angel investor with investments in businesses across Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. She also serves on several business advisory boards, NGOs & universities. She is also on the board of MATRADE....

Ooi Lay Pheng is the CEO of Berjayapak Sdn Bhd in Penang, Malaysia. She is in the business of providing wood packaging solutions such as pallets, crates and boxes to multinational corporations that need to ship and send their precious cargo all over the world.  This is a multi-million ringgit industry but it is also a rough-and-tough business. The wood packaging industry is a challenging industry...

Dr Vimaleswari Ramasamy is the CEO and founder of STRAVIK Business Consulting based in Penang, Malaysia.  STRAVIK Business Consulting offers business startup consulting to multinational companies keen to establish a strong presence and foothold in Malaysia as well as business optimisation consulting to organisations and Small Medium Enterprises looking to increase revenue. Together with her team,...

Ann Wong is the co-founder of the Penan Women Project in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is an initiative that helps the women of the Penan tribe in Sarawak to earn regular incomes and ensures the traditional art of weaving is kept alive. The Penan women are expert weavers despite having no formal education. Penan Women Project buys the handmade bags from the Penan women and markets the bags and totes at co...

Marlienna Suwito who is based in Jakarta, Indonesia started her business of rearing swiftlets for their valuable nests in 2006. These nests are carefully harvested and made into edible health products and even skincare for the Indonesian market as well as overseas markets. It isn't just a business like any other; Marlienna is tapping into her business acumen and network as a means to help her help...

Nina Othman didn’t start out wanting to found a social enterprise. Grow The Goose happened because her sons came to her one day and asked for roller shoes. She didn't give her boys the money. Nina encouraged her boys to put on their thinking caps and be creative in looking for solutions. Her one idea for her boys turned into the quirkily named Grow The Goose, a social enterprise that empowers kids...

Indonesian entrepreneur, Zhafira Loebis, started Babyloania with her husband Arlo Erdaka Temenggung in 2014 when they were pregnant with their first child. She was making a list of baby items and equipment she wanted to buy for her firstborn with her husband when they realized how expensive everything was.  This problem prompted them to look into starting Babyloania which began as a baby equipment...

Anushia Kandasamy's path to where she is now is a little unconventional. She started out as a management consultant with McKinsey and worked for 11 years before starting her own consulting business.  At every twist and turn, she has courageously taken the next step even though she didn’t really know what was in store. Anushia admits she has been very lucky throughout her career and business life....

What happens when you're a fashion retailer with 7 stores and then you're forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic? Norhani Pacasum of Ziya Inc. had to re-evaluate her options and face her deepest fears as the Philippine government ordered a lockdown in the city of Manila. She felt she was, for the first time ever, in a truly dark place. She was fearful but she decided she was going to find th...

Are you working so hard that you forget who you are and what you wanted? In this episode, Maresa Ng of The Spark Group Asia talks candidly about her coaching business. She began with a lot of passion and enthusiasm but she was pushing herself so hard and wanting to succeed so badly that she forgot how to live life. Insecurity, exhaustion, frustration - you name it, she had it. Maresa's business wa...

What is Womenpreneur Asia all about? Here's a quick overview of what you can expect from this brand new podcast for women entrepreneurs in Asia from Krista Goon. All episodes of Womenpreneur Asia are sponsored by Redbox Studio. Look out for new episodes every Friday for the next 13 weeks.

Hawaii is where this all happened. This is the introduction episode for Womenpreneur Asia and how I faced up to all my fears. I had wanted to start a podcast for the longest time but it was just a lot of wishing and wondering. But Hawaii and the East-West Center (and all the good folks from mentors, mentees and peers) in July 2019 changed my life. Enjoy this episode!