Rashvin Pal Singh On Malaysia’s Circular Economy & Social Enterprise Growth In The Region

Rashvin Pal Singh is the Group CEO of Biji-biji Initiative, one of Malaysia’s pioneering and award-winning social enterprises that champions sustainability. Biji-biji Initiative comprises of subsidiaries across a few industries, such as ethical fashion and circular economy solutions. Their latest venture ME.REKA is an innovative and alternative education model, designed to build 21st century talents. In 2019, Rashvin was selected as an Obama Leader for the Asia Pacific Cohort.

In 2019, Biji-biji also won the Common Objective Leadership Award in the UK; and in 2018 they were recognised as the Social Enterprise of the Year at the Sustainable Business Awards. Biji-biji also won the SME Innovation Challenge by Alliance Bank in 2015, the first and only impact-driven business to win. Rashvin graduated with an Accounting and Finance degree from Bristol Business School. He spent four years of his early career in the corporate world as a Manager at the Advisory Division of PwC Malaysia.

Rashvin discusses discusses the social enterprise landscape in Malaysia, the power of seeking mentorship and the opportunities presented by SEWF Digital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlights from the interview (listen to the podcast for full details)

[Tom Allen] - To kick things off Rashvin, can you please share a little bit about your background, and what led to your passion in social enterprise and the circular economy?

[Rashvin Pal Singh] - Tom, you've done a really good job introducing me, and you've been very kind with your words. I think really the jump for me was important. I was a typical accounting and finance person. As a younger person, I was super intrigued by stock markets, and I was very financially driven. I would never have guessed I would make this leap.

However, I think a couple of years in the corporate world really gave me that breadth of view, and what I saw first hand, was I experienced that all the access to all capital, technology and talent in the world to solve any of these pressing challenges… What hit me really was that the only thing lacking was human, or individual will.

Then I said, "hey, you know what, if I'm not part of the problem, and I'm not part of the solution, then I may be part of the problem anyway." That's why I made that leap.

That led into a lot of the work you've done post the work you did in finance, right? Because you’re the group CEO at the Biji-Biji Initiative now, so can you please tell us a little bit more about this organisation's purpose and the sort of work that you are doing?

When we started at Biji-Biji Tom, it was 2013 in Malaysia. I think at that point there was very little movement about sustainability, but from a creative sense and from an innovative sense, it was very much from an environmental conservation perspective. Being more urban based, we decided to set up something which first will look at the circular economy, from the perspective of how we could re-purpose and reuse materials, putting it back into [the economy].

But, focusing on the creative aspect of it, because that really brings out the best in talent and in minds. I think down the road, we've gone to launch a few sets of different products, and then as we were doing the products, we recognised that there was a lower layer; that people needed access to education and tools to empower their own ideas. Hence, we set up the education arm as well.

Tell us a little bit more about that education arm at the moment. What's happening there?

Me.Reka interestingly in Malay has two meanings. The first meaning is ‘they’ or ‘them’, in reference to people, and then it also means the act of creating. Those two things combined quite nicely together.

Then what happens is we run two physical spaces. We've got a 12,000 square feet maker space in Kuala Lumpur; we do another one with a public and private university. As well as what we do now is we're running a series of online classes and platforms to connect people so that they get access to the tools they need to solve their own problems.

Wonderful. It sounds absolutely fantastic Rashvin.

A lot of the maker culture stuff, like maker’s creating and experimenting also.

There's obviously been huge changes this year with COVID-19, particularly when you're talking about operating a maker's space or education. I can imagine how you've had to pivot really quite quickly there, but I'm keen to hear Rashvin about your observations of the broader social enterprise movement in Malaysia. What are you seeing? How has that transformed and changed recently, and where do you see it going?

That's a really interesting view to have. I think back in 2013, when we started, honestly, it was a non-existent concept or very vague in the moment. Then I think two years later it started growing. If I would say back seven or eight years ago there was probably about a handful, less than ten social enterprises.

Today, we have quite a thriving scene of close to two hundred active social enterprises. What has been quite good is that there has been also good recognition from the government side of things, and COVID really helped to accelerate the importance and appreciation of it.

Right now, what we're seeing is the government is honestly from a policy perspective introducing social entrepreneurship into various different facets, from youth entrepreneurship, even into 4.0., how technology and innovation can mix, and what's very exciting is they just have launched an official accreditation. That will lead to tax exemptions, so that's quite big.

That's big news there. Given that there's been all these added impacts of COVID-19, where do you see further gaps? Because you spoke about what sounds like a great opportunity there, but where do you see these gaps and opportunities then for social entrepreneurs in Malaysia?

I guess the biggest opportunities that really lie… The first, is there is a whole different perspective in people's minds of how things should be done. I think a lot of social entrepreneurs are tapping into that newer conscience, that people want to see businesses playing an active part in societal building. I think right now the concept really resonates, and people are looking for social enterprise concepts in everything, from food delivery apps, even in education units and food; a variety of different spectrums.

But the gaps… honestly, I think what happens is most social enterprises fail to pinpoint the exact business model. They tend to hop between whatever the community or the current trends are needing rather than having a solid business model, and then going to market.

It's still I think an entrepreneurial problem, but the heart is always there.

What can we do then to help up-skill and provide that capacity building for those that you believe perhaps should have stronger skills in understanding business, and running sustainable social enterprises?

Oh man, this has to be the Holy grail to be cracked, because let's be honest, running a regular business by itself is tough. Having to add on all these different layers of value gives it even more complexity.

Honestly, just sharing from my experience, the one thing that I would do differently is that I would have listened to a few mentors a little bit more.

Do it early on, seek out that person who is four or five years your senior in this space, because it really just saves you that heaps of time and mistakes.

Such good advice. Rashvin, you're a speaker at this year's Social Enterprise World Forum. It's the first year that the forum is going fully online. There are going to be over four thousand entrepreneurs expected to attend. I'm keen to hear what you're most looking forward to about SEWF Digital?

To begin Tom, this is exciting. We were both there in Ethiopia last year, and it was an amazing feeling!

That vibe is irreplaceable, but I'm honestly excited because digital means so much more inclusivity. I mean, at least from this context many more people can join who can't afford it. I just see a huge amount of diversity in the content, and I love the way they've done it.

They've done it by different time zones, so you've got different region-specific topics. I think it's going to be probably the most diverse SEWF.

I certainly agree. I can't wait for the 21st in September! If our audience is listening, jump onto the SEWF Digital webpage.

Rashvin, let’s talk about inspiring projects and initiatives. I'm sure you've come across a whole bunch operating in Malaysia or even globally. Which ones do you want to point out that you believe are creating some great positive social change?

I'd go on two sides. The one that I've really been impressed with is this group of local designers, who've come up with open source technology for coming up with low cost ventilators. What I loved, was that was a combination of the 3-D printing community, the design community coming together, and I've seen some really good low-scale, low-cost, high-impact technology coming up.

Even in the education space too what's been happening is with everything going digital, there's clear cracks in the internet access divide. I've seen some friends in the Philippines who started running classes through SMS.

Again, people using very low-cost tech to solve problems, and I think that is pushing the boundaries of innovation.

Rashvin, we're coming to an end, I wish we could speak all day. To wrap up, it'd be nice to hear a few books, resources, podcasts or blogs that you'd recommend to our listeners?

I've been spending a bit of time reading this book by Chris Voss, [called] Never Split The Difference. It's on the art of negotiation, and when you're in business, you're always dealing with a variety of different spectrums, so that's one. Honestly, I was reading the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, which is my fiction book!

It's good to tune out and get off the non-fiction business books sometimes!

It really helps. It kind of takes you to a different space. I've just been there spending a lot of time basically on FutureLearn. FutureLearn has been a really good source for me to access different content, especially [with my] lifelong learning style. It's been my source of knowledge.

On that note, I know that you've just had a collaboration to develop a new MOOC there. Tell us a little bit more about it.

Yes, thank you. It's been created with another partner called Living in Minca, led by Andres Morales from Columbia and Spain.

An absolute legend too who can also be found on the podcast!

Oh, that's cool, you can go check him out! We've worked on this together. It's broken down social innovation, especially in sustainable solutions, covering everything from the ideation part and the different models to apply technologies to use, so check it out.

Wonderful. Rashvin, it has been an absolute pleasure to talk to you today. We'll certainly look forward to seeing you at SEWF Digital this year. Thanks so much for your really generous insights and time, and we'll look forward to tracking your journey.