Lee Swee Lin

Ambitious Thinking

“People,” Lee Swee Lin, one of the cofounders of The Picha Project – a social enterprise based in Kuala Lumpur – answers when prompted on what the biggest challenge of running a business is. “No matter which side you’re looking at, we have to think about how to treat people differently and learn how to communicate in order to reach our goal.”

An impact-driven initiative that’s been up and running for close to three years, The Picha Project has a simple mission: to serve people great food while at the same time provide a new hope for refugees to have a fresh start in life. The enterprise aims to empower refugee families to be selfsustainable through a food delivery and catering service that features authentic traditional delicacies from Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Myanmar and Afghanistan, and has catered close to everything from corporate lunches to wedding dinners.

“We aim to build a world-class sustainable business that impacts more marginalised families, and to scale The Picha Project by having more families on board, growing the team and expanding on the non-perishable side of things,” Swee Lin declares.

The former Le Méridien finance executive believes in giving everything that she does her 100 per cent and that having a willing attitude to learn is very important. Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs? “You have to target the beneficiary that you want to impact and build your business model around it. Never give up.”