{"id":44818,"date":"2020-09-15T12:53:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T04:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=44818"},"modified":"2022-03-07T09:37:37","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T01:37:37","slug":"projek57-debbie-choa-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/projek57-debbie-choa-interview","title":{"rendered":"Making A Difference Through Social Entrepreneurship \u2013 An Interview With Projek57\u2019s Debbie Choa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of us want to make a difference in the world. That isn\u2019t an idealistic claim \u2013 research suggests that people who help others live longer, happier and healthier<\/a> lives. But it can be a bit daunting. You might not know where to start, or if the work you\u2019re doing has any impact. It might even seem like too much effort.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, you don\u2019t have to go all out to make a difference. We talk to Debbie Choa of Projek57 about social entrepreneurship and how anyone can create social impact.<\/p>\n

Projek57<\/a> is a social enterprise that aims to promote unity and patriotism in Malaysia. It provides opportunities to Orang Asli youths through scholarships, internships and collaborations with universities and corporate partners. All the profits go to empowering Orang Asli youths and the underprivileged. <\/div><\/div>\n

<\/span>From corporate law to social work<\/span><\/h2>\n
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The Projek57 team: Syed Sadiq Albar, Debbie Choa and Collin Swee<\/p><\/div>\n

Today, Choa is the Executive Director of Projek57; a social enterprise founded by her husband, Collin Swee, and his long-time friend Syed Sadiq Albar.<\/p>\n

But she wasn\u2019t always involved in social work. Before Projek57, she spent 15 years as a corporate lawyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut something felt like it was missing,\u201d Choa said. \u201cYou know, you finish off the year, and you\u2019re like yay<\/em>! So you take some holiday in December, right? And then it’s like, oh no, January starts!\u201d she said, laughing. It was another cycle of looking at budgets and going out there to get clients. \u201cIt became very repetitive and didn\u2019t feel purposeful to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She started to think, \u201cWhat else can I do apart from just helping others make money?\u201d<\/p>\n

That led to a pivot into social work. She started out by volunteering with SHELTER Home, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that helps underprivileged children. She also organised a workshop that gave underprivileged teenagers entrepreneurial experience.<\/p>\n

Later on, Choa got involved with the Entrepreneurs\u2019 Organization in Malaysia, as her husband was a member. There, they were inspired by an impact investor who raised capital to invest in transformational businesses, one of which provides employment and training to low-income women in Indonesia.<\/p>\n

The Projek57 team wondered if a similar model could work in Malaysia. \u201cWe thought, oh wow, can we do something with this?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Creating impact as a social enterprise<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cWe felt that could we[sic] use our experience to create impact, but also by using a business model,\u201d said Choa. Apart from her corporate experience, Syed Sadiq and Swee have also been business partners for almost twenty years.<\/p>\n

As a social enterprise, Projek57 is a business entity that focuses on using its profits to create positive social impact. This differs from charities or NGOs, which fund their causes through donations or fundraising. The social enterprise model allows Projek57 to focus on being financially sustainable. \u201cIf we were an NGO, a lot of time would be spent on fundraising,\u201d said Choa.<\/p>\n

Projek57 funds its causes by selling T-shirts and other wearable merchandise that display patriotic messages. The designs are trendy and youthful \u2013 something you\u2019d gladly use for your next grocery run or visit to the shopping mall. \u201cWe tried to bring \u2018cool\u2019 to patriotism,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by PROJEK57 (@projek57)<\/a> on