In light of various social issues that arose from volatile geopolitical, social enterprises and the entrepreneurs responsible for such organisations behind the scenes have faced challenging conditions in their mission to make the world a better place.
This has not only brought more awareness to the public on the impact that one could make with a little bit of effort, but it also inspired more social entrepreneurs to take a bold step forward in coming up with initiatives that would contribute to improving the lives of the underprivileged community.
A good example of this would be Rebekah Yeoh, granddaughter of late billionaire Yeoh Tiong Lay, who is the founder of Malaysia’s largest conglomerate, YTL Corporation.
In an exclusive interview with The Exchange Asia, Rebekah shared how her parents – including her father and Executive Chairman of YTL Group, Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping – had always exposed her and her siblings to the reality of financial illiteracy among the underprivileged communities in rural areas.
According to Rebekah, her parents believed that it was necessary to reveal the hardship of living conditions of other people outside of the ‘cosy lives’ of the privileged few.
“This effectually had a long-term impact on my interests and life direction. I did my economic bachelor’s thesis on microfinancing for neglected communities and I had always dreamed of pioneering a sustainable charity engine,” she said, elaborating on how her grandfather and father had built the empire of YTL Group from humble beginnings, which encouraged her to fuse the aspect of business and charity together.
“With that, Recyclothes was born, which was also influenced by my ‘passion for fashion’ and my sister, Ruth’s fight against environmental wastage,” added Rebekah, who is also the Corporate Finance Director of YTL.
For her current role in YTL, she oversees cash management responsibilities while also supporting mergers and acquisitions (M&As), accounting and project financing activities. She has also assisted in undertaking several corporate exercises for over 10 years as the group seeks ways to expand, grow its global footprint, and sprawl into evolving industries relevant to the shifting norms of today.
When asked about her decision to join YTL Corporation, Rebekah answered with, “I believe it was the natural progression of realising one’s potential through the support of family members which was the main appeal. Education played a very integral role in my family’s upbringing, considering my grandmother was a teacher most of her life, and our family invested a lot into the importance of education.
With such efforts, Rebekah said that the best way to put all that education to good use is by channelling it all back to the people, which completes the circle of life by honouring the people who had given so much to mould her to become the person she is today.
However, the professional responsibilities she has with YTL Corporation never distracted her from her mission to bring about positive change, especially for those who could not afford to do so for themselves.
Reaching Out With Nimble Fingers
In 2015, 18-year-old Rebekah founded a sustainable empowerment programme to help children develop talent and entrepreneurial skills in Cambodia, dubbed Nimble Fingers Cambodia.
“The programme adopts a three-pronged methodology constituting micro-finance, enterprising and sustainable giving that ultimately aims to instil an early culture in children to accumulate disposable income and savings instead of squander it away.
“Through the programme, they could use profits to be reinvested into their own ‘mini enterprises’ so that they learn about capital spending, savings and value-add. The children can be trained from a young age to monitor their finances and cultivate conservative financial etiquette,” Rebekah explained.
She said that Nimble Fingers Cambodia is an initiative that she holds close to her heart because of the children that are involved in the programme.
“I fell in love with the children the minute I met them. They have such pure hearts, so willing to share despite having so little, and they treat each other like family. The childcare centre raised them to heal others through love.
“I felt they deserved a chance to build their lives through practising sound financial etiquette, and this program empowers them from a young to reach beyond minimum wage by giving them the confidence to pursue work encompassed around their genuine interests,” Rebekah said, adding that the programme is also able to provide the initial ‘push’ for the children to explore their future career paths and discover their talents.
Moreover, Rebekah said that the programme teaches them about team coordination and shared stakeholding within a business.
“They were beholden to the poor education system in Cambodia which lacks the basic practical skills of finance and book-keeping. Business knowledge combined with a good heart is unformidable!” she continued.
Making a Difference With Global Shapers
Apart from being an active philanthropist, Rebekah is also an alumnus of the Global Shapers Community Kuala Lumpur – an initiative that allows anyone and everyone to give back through a series of projects with causes revolving around the homeless, children, women and/or education.
“I am a strong admirer of Jeffrey Sach’s research in economic scarcity. I agree with him wholeheartedly that ‘perpetual charity is not a sustainable option to eliminating poverty’, and I am convinced that enterprise is a more effective way of unlocking the potential of these individuals to create wealth for the long term, and this is what Global Shapers has pioneered over the years,” Rebekah explained.
She said that Global Shapers became an outlet for her to let her inner economic creativity run wild when it comes to community projects. According to her, there were infinite planes that people could achieve, and the best way to do it than with other shapers who contributed a diverse range of manpower, knowledge, experience, and support.
“I was submerged into a pool of professionals who had ventured into their own social projects taking various natures and forms. I was the weak link as I had the most to learn.
“The best part about it was that other shapers were so willing to share their experiences and teach. Since then, we’ve devised projects that have reached out to so many different demographics in Malaysia with an objective to mitigate dire issues faced and ignored by our community,” Rebekah added.
Back to Her Roots
Even with all that she has achieved in her life so far, Rebekah emphasised how her father’s advice to her and her siblings had always influenced her to better herself spiritually.
“My father always stressed the importance of spiritual and Christian values. He made it very clear to us that he is so proud of us for each of our drives and achievements, but nothing would make him happier than if we were spiritually aligned as a family.
“He always told us that no amount of success in our careers or lives would come close to making him proud if we were doing it for ourselves. Our purpose is to glorify God and God alone and if we are not doing so – none of it makes sense. Thus, I believe his principles have taught us that everything we do on our time on earth, including our career, is not hinged on success, but towards a much greater purpose,” she continued.
Ultimately, when it comes to being a philanthropist, Rebekah said that it is all about quality, not quantity and that it is important to find a cause that resonates with your heart as everyone is different.
“Don’t start by giving financially, start by physical visitations, deeper interactions, and conversation with those in need in order to learn about their true struggles. I think it is crucial to address one’s needs on a personal basis so that you can project a plan as to how to properly address them.
“If you were to give financially and blindly, it may fall into the hands of someone who may not redistribute the resources properly and the ripple effect may be short-lived. True giving comes from a true heart’s intention, and that goes way further,” she ended.
