2024 A2ELP Alumni

Congratulations to the 2024 Alumni of Australia-ASEAN Emerging Leaders Program (A2ELP)!

Leaders amongst their country’s young entrepreneurs, the following social entrepreneurs span social enterprises around mental health, professional services, education, science, writing and publishing, health and wellbeing, music, games and more.

Anjum Kasmani

Desert Echo Drums & She Recites & Sacred Islamic Wills
Australia
A self confessed serial social entrepreneur, Anjum Kasmani is the founder of a number of social enterprises with global impact, including;
Desert Echo Drums, an Islamic Arts School based in Sydney, London and online. Deemed a trailblazer in the field of Islamic drumming, Anjum was not satisfied with only performing but also wanted her audience to taste the transformative power of drums firsthand. Desert Echo’s drumming curriculums have benefited tens of thousands of students around the world, created opportunities for confidence in expression for CALD women, and inspired a new generation of drum teachers and performers.
She Recites, is an emerging production house dedicated to archiving the stories of high achieving women of faith from around the world. In 2023 She Recites Podcast focused on ASEAN stories of female empowerment with a number of international visits placing a spotlight on the often overlooked yet critical work of faithful women in the region.
Sacred Islamic Wills brings together Anjum’s legal profession with her passion for education and social welfare. SIW aims to educate women on their legal and financial rights and obligations in an affordable, approachable and proactive way through educational workshops and personally tailored consultations at a fraction of the cost of legal services.
In 2023, Anjum was chosen as one of 5 emerging Young Australian Muslim leaders for the AAMEP delegation to Brunei where she attended a private audience with King Hasan Al Bolkiah.

Indio Myles

Paradigm Shift Games
Australia
Indio Myles is an aspiring foreign journalist, social entrepreneur and multimedia storyteller. As a recipient of the New Colombo Plan Scholarship, Indio is currently based in Bangkok Thailand completing his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) majoring in journalism research. For the past five years, Indio has worked as Publisher and Designer with Australian Social Innovation podcast Impact Boom and contributed to 250+ episodes. Now, Indio is beginning his own journey to become a leader of social change, through developing a social impact tabletop gaming enterprise, Paradigm Shift Games. This enterprise combines Indio’s love for shared learning experiences and the communication of complex issues through innovative mediums.
Indio graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and Communication/Bachelor of Business (majoring in management) and with honours from Griffith University. In his spare time, his passions include music (both listening too and playing), martial arts and writing.

Chamroeun Keo

Smart Veckchob
Cambodia
My name is Chamroeun Keo from Cambodia, and I hold a master’s degree in Leadership for Sustainability from Malmö University in Sweden. Professionally, with a focus on project management and strategic planning, I’ve impacted over 400 SMEs through upscaling and digital programs.
In response to waste management issues and the surge in plastics from food delivery, in 2020, my colleague and I initiated Smart Veckchob (Smart takeaway), a plastic-free food delivery concept born from an incubation program. My commitment to sustainable development extends to active participation in dialogues on policy, sustainable business models, and access to finance. A significant aspect of my mission is to develop entrepreneurship resources tailored to the Khmer cultural context and language, empowering rural markets through localized initiatives.

Vellarry Maydelina Yong

Oupus Organics
Malaysia
I’m Vellarry, the founder of Oupus Organics, a Sabah, Malaysia-based social enterprise. At Oupus Organics, we specialize in crafting handcrafted skincare products using ingredients from Borneo. Our commitment to social impact is reflected in the employment opportunities we provide for underprivileged women, offering flexible working hours to accommodate diverse circumstances. Beyond business, a portion of our profits is dedicated to organizing soap-making workshops for marginalized and indigenous communities. This initiative aims to empower individuals with valuable skills, fostering sustainable income. Oupus Organics stands as a beacon of positive change, combining Borneo’s natural beauty with a mission of social empowerment and community support.

Shane Marie Landicho

Therawee Health Innovation
Philippines
Shane Marie Landicho, OTRP, CPMT, CDPP, MSc, is a health and education technology innovator and an occupational therapist who has managed to advocate for accessible therapy delivery and model through TheraWee, a startup social enterprise recognized both globally and locally by organizations such as UpLink, the World Economic Forum, the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards Foundation, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) YOUnified Awards, the National Council on Disability Affairs, etc. in promoting social justice in the health sector. She was also nominated as one of the finalists for Hope Heroes 2023.
She is currently focusing on human rights and a child- and family-centered approach while providing individualized and inclusive solutions through innovation and technology, health policy and system development, and strategic operation and management to build resilience in every individual, family, and institution in the community.

Natthineethiti Phinyapincha (Nikki)

Transtalents Consulting Group
Thailand
Nikki Phinyapincha (she/her) is a driving force in Asia’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) landscape. As the visionary founder of TransTalents Consulting Group, she spearheads inclusive business strategies aligned with SDGs. With 8 years as a corporate PR director and over 4 years excelling in DEI consultancy, training, and speaking engagements, Nikki passionately advocates for business equality, LGBTIQ+ inclusion, and transgender leadership. Her commitment extends to chairing the PRCA APAC Pride Network, advising the ASEAN Youth Advocate Network Thailand, and receiving the prestigious Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellows Program (PFP) in 2022. Recognized in Kocktail magazine’s Future List 100, Tatler Asia Magazine’s 300 Gen.T leaders, and hailed as an Outstanding 100 Future Leaders Role Model by Involve x Youtube, Nikki collaborates globally, catalyzing transformative change across businesses in Asia, Europe, and the US.

Riley Dolman

Fair Game & Garnduwa
Australia
I am a proud Eastern Arrernte man from the central desert living on Bunuba country in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. I work for Garnduwa in the community development space, empowering remote communities to build sustainability and self determination in the programs that occur in their communities. I have previously studied a Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology at the University of Western Australia and have applied some of my learnt skills to volunteering in different roles in the non for profit sector and my current employment.
I have been a Volunteer Director at Fair Game since 2018. Fair Game is a health promotion charity that recycles and repurposes sports equipment and delivers culturally informed health programs to under-serviced communities in Western Australia.

Kiana Mei

Next Generation Entrepreneur Hub
Australia
My name is Kiana and I’m an 18 year old business owner, artist and leader for entrepreneurial youth empowerment. Two years ago I started my own small business. Now, this has turned into a successful business that I have continued to run and grow whilst studying fulltime in highschool. My experiences inspired me to launch my first social enterprise, the Next Generation Entrepreneur Hub, which provides opportunities for young people under the age of 18 to start their own businesses in a supportive and likeminded community that I have established and will continue to grow.

Fatin Afiqah Md Asrul Saniy (Tina)

Parabelle Studios
Brunei
Tina Afiqah is a practicing Creative Counsellor and published author with a BAHons in Creative Expressive Therapies and a MA in Counselling. Her passion in mental health has allowed her to work with different clients stemming from a wide range of age, disorders and backgrounds. Through her written works, she hopes to inspire the newer generations through the morals embedded within her stories, as well as to provide them with representation (she is mostly keen in working with children with disabilities and illnesses). Being born of Brunei-Murut decent, she founded her company, Parabelle Studios, in 2020 which works closely with native tribal leaders in hopes of further preserving cultural heritage and maintaining family values through progressive storytelling.

Rosita Dewi Andi

Girls and Women in Renewable Energy Academy (GAWIREA)
Indonesia
Andi Rosita Dewi has seven years of working experience as a consultant for renewable energy. She has worked in the private sector dealing with developing hydropower plants for six years. She joined the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as a field facilitator for developing renewable energy in rural areas for one year. Since 2021 she has founded the NGO Yayasan Nyala Perempuan Sebata (YNPS) and start-up Girls and Women in Renewable Energy Academy (GAWIREA), which is engaged in empowering rural women with the help of renewable energy technology. GAWIREA aims to empower women through non-formal education to use renewable energy as a source of income, enabling villages to become economically and energetically independent.

Bounlieng Phanthapanya (William)

Startnovation
Laos
Bounlieng Phanthapanya or William is the founder and CEO of Startnovation, a platform that empowers youths through entrepreneurship and leadership skills to support them become entrepreneurs in the future. Startnovation has empowered hundreds of youths in Vientiane via skills-building workshops, online seminars, and business competitions that have supported the community. William has a dream to create a Startup Sandbox or a Startup Incubator where people can come to learn, play, and create a real business for the economy in Laos and go to the global stage as well.

Nang Kant Kaw Ywat Hseng

Clean Bee
Myanmar
I am the Founder of Clean Bee, a social enterprise with a mission to find sustainable alternative source of income for current and ex-opium poppy farmers in Pyet Karng community in the Southern Shan State. Clean Bee believes that war on drugs should be long-term, gradual, sustainable and local. Beyond Clean Bee, I am also a social worker and a Shan State analyst. With my background in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, I seek to support my community gradually and more effectively.

Shuen Hwee Yee

Terraformers Pte Ltd
Singapore
Shuen Hwee is the co-founder and CEO of Terraformers. She began her career in sustainable development after a post-university gap year. While backpacking around Asia, she witnessed the vulnerability of livelihoods in rural areas, exacerbated by the climate crisis. Shuen Hwee believes that regenerative tourism creates an opportunity to uplift rural communities while honouring their cultural traditions and natural environments. Shuen Hwee was a project lead of climate technology and robotics at Audacity, an impact start-up collective and venture builder before founding Terraformers.