5 Young Leaders From Malaysia On The Gen.T List 2020

Meet five entrepreneurs from Malaysia on our list of 400 Leaders of Tomorrow

We just finished revealing the 400 honourees on the Gen.T List 2020 at unveiling events across the region.

To give you a taste of what to expect from the 30 young leaders on the list from Malaysia, here are five entrepreneurs that represent the tenacity and talent of all the honourees from the country this year.

Erman Akinci

Above Erman Akinci

For pioneering co-working across Southeast Asia

Co-founder and CEO, Common Ground

Erman Akinci spent much of his early career with Catcha Group, which builds and invests in disruptive technology, media and e-commerce businesses. Having identified the success of co-working spaces in other markets, he established Common Ground with his business partner Juhn Teo in 2017 to bring the concept to Malaysia, before expanding to the Philippines and Thailand. The company is now one of the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

Deborah Henry

Above Deborah Henry

For empowering refugees to take charge of their own futures

Co-founder, Fugee School

Television host, former model, Miss World Malaysia 2007, Miss Universe Malaysia 2011—and now Deborah Henry has a higher purpose: Malaysia’s nearly 200,000 refugees. Since founding the Fugee School in 2009, she has helped more than 400 students with academic education, job skills, diversity training, art, music and yoga. Meanwhile, her social enterprise Fugeelah trains refugees in jewellery-making and business skills, with part of the proceeds from its handcrafted earring sales going to fund the school.

Raudhah Nazran

Above Raudhah Nazran

For helping young people become more employable

Founder and CEO, Accelerate Global

Raudhah Nazran’s social enterprise Accelerate Global aims to tackle youth unemployment worldwide. It delivers programmes and masterclasses that help young people gain the skills they need to become more employable. Currently, she is working on closing the digital gap between youths in rural communities and those living in urban areas. She also has plans to build three community centres around the world catering to underprivileged youths.

Shin Chang

For breathing new life into a legendary building

Co-founder and lead architect, RexKL

Architect Shin Chang, who runs MentahMatter Design, is behind the repurposing of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Rex Cinema into RexKL, a new cultural centre for artists, creatives and entrepreneurs. Along with fellow architect and co-founder Shin Tseng, he revived the historic threestorey building and instituted a vibrant programme of events, from design workshops, film screenings and open-mic nights to artisanal workshops, restaurant and bar pop-ups, performances and talks.

Nadirah Zakariya

Above Nadirah Zakariya

For shooting subjects that matter and encouraging others to do so

Visual artist

Nadirah Zakariya’s photographs focus on a range of subjects, but often she turns the camera on herself, creating captivating self-portraits that shine a light on the skin condition she suffers from, vitiligo, which causes patches of pigment loss. Nadirah is also keen to pass on her skills, hosting masterclasses to help budding photographers. Her photographs have been published in Vice, Vogue Italia and The New York Times.

See more honourees from Malaysia on the Gen.T List 2020.

Topics

Malaysia Entrepreneur Startup

Tatler Asia