Meet Nini Daing, CEO of MyHarapan, hard-working mother, fighter for young social entrepreneurs. All around bad-ass. 

Listen to our conversation in this podcast:

myHarapan is a Youth Trust Foundation dedicated towards empowering young Malaysians by supporting youth projects and initiatives that contribute to current nation-building efforts. We achieve this through providing various platforms and opportunities that help them scale, sustain, expand and multiply their impact. Visit their website, www.myharapan.org to learn more & donate to their AWESOME cause.

Don’t let her stature fool you. Nini Diang may be a head or two below me (I stand at a whopping 5’5’), but what she lacks in size, she makes up for in perseverance and character.

I met with Nini on a hot afternoon at a Coffee Bean in a crowded mall right outside of Kuala Lumpur. Right away, I could tell that she possesses exactly the qualities needed to help grow the social economy in Malaysa. An out-of-the-box thinker, Nini speaks her mind, and can make even the most dry of conversations, laugh-worthy.

I’ve met a number of nonprofit Executive Directors in my day, and meeting with Nini  was a breath of fresh air. Her awe-inspiring humility and drive towards her cause made me feel at ease and excited for the potential of what we can all create if we work together. She welcomes collaboration, and places the cause of helping youth above her own ego, not an easy task, especially for those at the top of their field. She didn't put on airs, or try to impress the importance of her career. Instead she spoke with an honest integrity, one that points out the comic absurdity of life.

Nini face a number of challenges working in a nonprofit that makes money. It's a new grey area that calls for someone who can stand strong in their beliefs and not be swayed by the negative remarks made from confused investors and donors.

Nini run’s MyHarapan, a youth foundation that supports youth in a myriad of ways methods. However, MyHarapan is not your typical youth support service nonprofit. With Nini’s strategic and ambitious goals, MyHarapan offers a kind of incubation program for young, aspiring social entrepreneurs.  Malaysia, like many other nations, faces a huge dearth of employment opportunities, especially for the young folks. MyHarapan’s solution to the problem is to educate the youth in how they can create their own jobs, and encourages them to create businesses with both financial and social goals.

She acknowledges the difficulty in helping youth start social enterprises. It's hard enough to teach someone how to build a business plan and worry about financials, and then on top of all that they must include a social goal as well. It seems like a daunting task only taken on because the alternative of doing nothing, is far scarier.

I could tell Nini was no stranger to hard work, even she admitted that she works “bloody hard” which means regular late hours, and a strong partnership with her husband who supports her ambitions. Like many social entrepreneurs, Nini doesn't see the long hours as work, it's her life's passion, her calling. 

Nini began her interest in working with youth from teaching. Her original background was in accounting, a “safe” field that pleased her parents and gained prestige in Malaysian society. She quickly left accounting for the juice of the tech start-up world. Her bosses saw great potential in her, and gave her support and an on-the-job education that helps her even today. She quickly looked for something more, no longer feeling satisfaction from working for a business that didn’t address any social issues. Through good luck and good friends, she got connected to MyHarapan, and will never look back.

I hope for the sake of the sector, more ambitious, yet truly humble people like Nini stick around. She is the type of person who most long to work for because they feel respected yet challenged. Under her leadership, Myharapan has an exciting future of creating the next generation of innovative leaders.