Tell us a bit about yourself, your background, and your experience. Specify any relevant details in your upbringing that contributed to developing your social business idea later on.
I was part of the Audacity community, an impact community based in Singapore building humanity-centric futures. As a project lead in climate technologies, I had the opportunity to explore the complexities of sustainability. I was also inspired by the changemakers I have worked with, which sparked the beginning of Terraformers.
A little bit more about my story – back in 2019, I didn’t ever imagine that I would be interested in entrepreneurship or sustainability. When I couldn’t find an ice cream in Mongolia while backpacking, and my friend suggested that the lack of availability was due to low snowfall in the winter, leading to a shortage in milk supply, it hit me really hard to realize that the climate crisis had direct impacts on people’s lives.
I went on to learn more about the value IPLCs provide for our environment and society, but yet at the same time learned about the threats they faced, I wanted to introduce regenerative tourism as a means to empower them.
Please describe your company story. What led you to start your social business? How did you come up with the idea to start your social business?
I actually came across the concept of regenerative tourism by chance. As an avid traveller, I always believed that tourism can be a force for good. Especially for IPLCs, where their livelihood (which is primarily nature/agriculture-based) is very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, tourism provides additional economic resilience to these communities. However, tourism introduced abruptly often does more harm than good. When I learned about regenerative tourism, it felt like the right thing to work on. We then got to meet a village in Northern Vietnam that was interested in collaborating to pursue regenerative tourism which led to the birth of Terraformers.
What is the main challenge you want to solve? – Be as specific as possible: who, where, when?
Democratizing resources for IPLCs to better conserve our cultural and natural heritage.
How did you first hear about the social business concept? When did you realize you were leading a social business?
I first learned about it in university and it was always intentional for us to build Terraformers as a social business.
What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur? And the least? (Answer in paragraphs)
I love having control of my time and the feeling of waking up excited to work/live.
The moments where people question how much money we earn.
What is the most important lesson you learned in your journey as a social entrepreneur so far?
Being able to stay focused on the goals of the business despite what others say and staying true to yourself and the team.
How did you hear about the Y&Y Fellowship Program?
UNDP Springboard Programme.
What motivated you to apply?
I wanted to be part of a fellowship that was specially tailored for social businesses. A program designed by a team committed to advancing social causes felt like it would have a lot more empathy and be more applicable to us.
How has your journey as a Y&Y Fellow been so far?
Awesome! As a really early-stage start-up, the modules have guided us to improve our internal operations and sales processes. Mentors have also been very patient and supportive.
Why is it important to have the support of a mentor?
Our mentors provide an alternative perspective to get out of our heads and see the flaws in our processes.
What advice would you give to a young person who is starting a social business?
I really liked the advice from the program to marry the problem we are solving instead of the solution. It is good to understand and build empathy for our beneficiaries before starting the business for its longevity.
What advice would you give to someone considering applying to the Y&Y Fellowship Program?
Be present in the program and ensure that there is bandwidth to apply learnings from the course.
