Episodes

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 being uncomfortable, bored, angry and curious and these emotions catapulted me into starting life-cha...

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 also co-founded a women entrepreneur organisation in Penang, Malaysia where we grow and nurture women...

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 go to Paris to pitch someone she didn't even know. In this interview, she also talks about what it mea...

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. In this episode, she talks about how she grew up in Rifle Range, Penang and learnt entrepreneurship when...

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 as sustainable timber resources need to be managed while competitors are aplenty. The factory is usua...

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, she provides strategic consultation with strong analytical and operational expertise, leveraging toda...

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 community fairs and bazaars in Miri, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, and Penang. Some volunteers...

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 the community she feels strongly about - underprivileged children - while providing jobs to women...

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 to be problem-solvers and solution-finders. Her business teaches children how to be financially-sav...

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 rental business serving other parents in areas such as Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang dan Bekasi. Babylo...

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. From being an exchange student in Japan to backpacking overland from Germany to Malaysia, Anushia is ...

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 the silver lining in this period of uncertainty. In this episode, Norhani speaks frankly about teamwor...

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 was running her to the ground and she came to a point where she had to make a huge decision about her ...

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!