THE ARTS
Amira Geneid, 25
Founder and CEO of Zahara
Amira, who started the Singapore-based luxury halal cosmetic brand, came up with an oxygen nail polish after her beauty line failed to obtain halal-compliant cosmetics. The nail polish, being water and oxygen permeable, can now be used by Muslim women to perform wudhu or ablution without having to remove it.
ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY
Jason Lee, 30
Expansion Director for Australia and New Zealand, NEM.io Foundation
A firm believer that blockchain can solve real-world problems, Jason encourages enterprises to adopt NEM blockchain technology to assist in growth and economic progress. He’s also familiar with the fintech industry, having co-founded two companies, insurtech startup PolicyStreet and smart city accelerator program Finnext Capital.
INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURING & ENERGY
Vinesh Sinha, 29
Founder of FatHopes Energy
He may have dropped out from London’s School of Commerce, but he used the refund money to build a company that turns waste oils from the food industry in Malaysia into biofuels to be sold globally. Vinesh was also nominated for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2017.
FINANCE & VENTURE CAPITAL
Wilson Beh, 27 and Winnie Chua, 29
Co-founders of PolicyStreet
The duo sets out to create relevant insurance products for Southeast Asians through their online insurtech platform. PolicyStreet, which provides affordable private healthcare for the young and the underprivileged, has already covered more than 1,000 people in just one year of operation.
RETAIL & ECOMMERCE
Ammar Roslizar, 28 and Ammar Shahrin, 29
Co-founders of ARBA Travel
The travel agency devoted to halal tourism began in 2014, and it has prospered ever since. Roslizar and Shahrin research itineraries that include halal-friendly restaurants, prayer time and prayer locations for Muslim travellers. They now have operational bases in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, and Jakarta by 2019 soon.
RETAIL & ECOMMERCE
Raeesa Sya, 28
CEO of Orkid Cosmetics
A gap in the Muslim beauty market led entrepreneur Raeesa Sya to establish Orkid Cosmetics, a beauty line aimed at millennials who fancy accessible, trendy, halal, vegan and cruelty-free beauty products. She’s also recognised as Tech in Asia’s 12 under 30 promising Southeast Asian Entrepreneurs in 2016.
RETAIL & ECOMMERCE
Jonathan Weins, 28
Founder of dahmakan
Former investment banker Weins was born and raised in three countries (Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) but he’s now based in Malaysia, having set up food delivery service dahmakan. To date, he has raised more than US$ 4 million in funding from Southeast Asian and international venture capitalists and high-profile angel investors including ex-CEO of Nestle.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
Lim Yuet Kim, 27; Lee Swee Lin, 24; and Ling Sook Shian, 25
Founders of The Picha Project
The social enterprise, named after a young refugee boy, empowers refugee families in Malaysia through a sustainable food catering business. Home-cooked traditional meals are prepared by refugees before being delivered by Picha Project to the end consumer. In addition, the trio also won our inaugural The Edge Inspiring Young Leaders Award last year.
ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
Shila Amzah, 27
Singer
You know her foremost as the first runner-up of reality singing competition One in a Million Season 2. But she’s known to her Chinese fans as the overnight sensation of I Am a Singer singing competition in China. The songstress, who sings in Mandarin and Cantonese, has amassed 2.3 million fans on Weibo.
