1. Datin Vivy Sofinas Yusof
As the co-founder of the multimillion-dollar online store Fashion Valet and The dUCk Group. Vivy Yusof a mother, model, and a mogul, she is an icon in her own right. The platform currently consists of more than 300 Southeast Asian brands. Vivy also among the growing Malaysian women who try to transform the hijab’s contentious image.
She is not only known as the woman behind Fashion Valet, and she is famous for blogs and Instagram. With her witty jokes and charming personality and also her perfect and beautiful fashion sense, one will never be bored while going through her blogs.
2. Mac Chung Lynn
Mac Chung Lynn is one of the most well-known female entrepreneurs in Malaysia, as Managing Director and CEO of Nando’s Malaysia and Singapore, one of the most successful F&B companies in the area.
For more than 17 years now, she has been in this business. There are currently 69 outlets in Malaysia and 11 in Singapore. In order to focus on a more strategic role, Mac has now begun to step back from day-to-day activities.
3. Yasmin Rasyid
A professional marine biologist and a passionate environmentalist, Yasmin Rasyid has been working with government agencies, private entities, NGOs and academic institutions. Since 1998, she has also taken an interest in the environment.
Yasmin Rasyid was rooted in her university as a Marine Biology and Biology graduate and was motivated by her love of nature to create EcoKnights, a global environmental organisation she has led since 2005.
4. Christy Ng
Hers is a true rags-to-riches story. Christy Ng sold flowers at a local metro station to make extra money during her school days. At 18 she was able to sell shoes in flea markets in Petaling Jaya. She obtained these shoes in Thailand from a source, and each made a small profit of each one.
In 2012, Christy started Christyng.com, an online shoe company that specialises in customising women’s footwear.
Christy, who won the opening Alliance Bank Bizsmart SME Innovation Challenge in 2013 – winning RM250, 000 for her corporate development. She will return to the programme as one of the mentors this year.
5. Tan Hooi Ling
Tan Hooi Ling followed the same path as many smart engineers, among others a former McKinsey & Co. analyst and later Senior Manager at Saleforce.com. In 2011, however, while Ling and his colleague Anthony Tan went to Harvard Business School and entered a start-up competition at the school, and their company, GrabTaxi (better known as MyTeksi in Malaysia) was born. GrabTaxi was launched as a leading player in Southeast Asia in June 2012 in Malaysia. The app has now been in 26 cities across the South-East Asian area with over 110,000 riders.
Grab, which began as a taxi hailer but has since become the most valuable start-up in South East Asia, everything from payments to the food delivery.