AirAsia Foundation’s Destination: GOOD social enterprise hub opens
AirAsia Foundation opened its first social enterprise hub, Destination: GOOD, yesterday, marking a new milestone in its social entrepreneurship advocacy.
Located in REXKL, within the historic heart of the city, Destination: GOOD retails more than 400 responsibly and ethically produced goods sourced from over 30 social enterprises from around Asean. More than a shop, it aims to be an exchange that fosters collaboration between Asean social entrepreneurs and community-based enterprises.
“In the last seven years, we have awarded 24 grants to innovative Asean social enterprises to help them grow. We realised that to expand our reach, we needed to create broad-based platforms to speak to new markets and audiences.
“Through Destination: GOOD, we hope to do just that and make social enterprise goods and services accessible to anyone seeking sustainable travel and lifestyle solutions,” said AirAsia Foundation executive director Yap Mun Ching.
The opening ceremony was officiated by Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng, who was joined by AirAsia Group executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes. Also present to share their stories were 10 of AirAsia Foundation’s Malaysian social enterprise partners, including The Basikal, Langit Collective and The Picha Project.
AirAsia Foundation also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Kraftangan Malaysia to bring Malaysian crafts to a new audience and with Minconsult Sdn Bhd, the AirAsia philanthropic arm’s first corporate partner, to jointly fund social enterprise outreach activities in Kuala Lumpur.
The morning’s event was capped by a fashion show to showcase the new GOOD/ jahat/ travel-themed collection by AirAsia Foundation and Malaysian conceptual design house Projek Jahat. Made using upcycled AirAsia materials, the twelve-piece ensemble was launched two days before at the opening of Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2019. All pieces from this collection are now available at Destination: GOOD.
Over the past two years, AirAsia Foundation has operated Destination: GOOD as a popup store in various locations, including Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2).
This is the first time the shop will have a permanent address. Its new home, REXKL, formerly the iconic Rex Cinema, which has been transformed into a multicultural creative and entrepreneurial hub. Like REXKL, Destination: GOOD seeks to promote culture and foster a sense of community.