Making Waves in the Industry: 10 NOC Alumni Blazing New Paths for Women and Girls
This International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the ones who inspire.
Since 2002, over 2,800 NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) alumni have established over 370 companies globally. To celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women this International Women’s Day, here are 10 of our inspirational alumni making waves in their industries.
Audrey Tan
Co-founder of Angels of Impact and Playmoolah
NOC Silicon Valley and NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences alumna
The social entrepreneur and Asia Tatler’s Generation T 2018 honouree did a product marketing internship at Qik, a live video mobile application firm (later acquired by Skype), as part of the NOC Silicon Valley programme. The experience opened her eyes to the benefits of using tech for good. Upon completing her NOC experience in 2009, Audrey co-founded PlayMoolah to increase financial literacy among youths. In 2016, she co-founded Angels of Impact that aims to eradicate poverty by uniting women as agents of change. Read more about Audrey’s inspiration behind her social ventures and how she is hoping to impact society.
Charmain Tan
Founder of Pear Comms
NOC Stockholm and NUS Faculty of Science alumna
Charmain was inspired to start her first business in wearable technology after her NOC Stockholm experience. In 2011, she began developing, producing, and selling ISGLOVES — winter gloves with touchscreen capability — which won awards and were sold internationally, but sales were not substantial. Charmain discovered that many businesses face challenges in optimising their sales capabilities, and this is why she founded Pear Comms, a company blending high tech and high touch approaches to help grow small and medium enterprises by generating more sales.
Dionis Chiua
Co-founder of Lean Bento
NOC Bio Valley and NUS School of Computing alumna
Dionis is on a mission to make our world healthier, one bento at a time. She started Lean Bento because she believes that a sustainable diet is to make healthy food tasty and satisfying. This is the food philosophy that drives Lean Bento.
Goh Yiping
Partner at Quest Ventures
NOC Bio Valley and NUS School of Design and Environment alumna
Yiping was recently named Partner of Quest Ventures. She is also known as the e-commerce trailblazer behind All Deals Asia, which was acquired by Lippo Group. Together with Lippo Group, she also helped launch MatahariMall, an online version of Indonesia’s biggest department store, with Lippo Group. Yiping is also an Asia Tatler Generation T 2018 honouree.
Guan Dian
Co-founder and VP of PatSnap
NOC Silicon Valley and NUS School of Computing alumna
Asia Tatler’s Generation T 2018 honouree and Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2016, and co-founder of the multi-million dollar intellectual property intelligence company, Guan Dian was responsible for bringing in the first clients and developing PatSnap’s brand and presence in China. PatSnap was co-founded by Guan Dian and NOC Bio Valley alumnus Jeffrey Tiong (NUS Faculty of Engineering alumnus).
Gwendolyn Regina Tan
Entrepreneur in Residence at Entrepreneur First
NOC Silicon Valley and NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences alumna
Entrepreneur, keynote speaker and host, Gwendolyn is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Entrepreneur First, a deep tech talent investor. Previously as a founder, she built and sold tech media start-up, SGEntrepreneurs to Tech in Asia. She has also hosted a TV documentary on the Internet of Things for Channel NewsAsia.
Janelle Lee
Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of bantu
NOC New York and NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences alumna
Janelle is one of the four co-founders of bantu who met through the NOC programme. The social enterprise led by Nicholas Ooi and Han Lynn (NOC Silicon Valley and NUS School of Computing alumni), and Janelle Lee and Joshua Foong (NOC New York and NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences alumni) aims to empower NPOs and VWOs with cloud and AI technology to transform their daily operations. Find out how the co-founders are making bantu bigger and better here.
Lee Min Xuan
Co-founder of Playmoolah, and CEO of Red Dot
NOC Silicon Valley and NUS Business School alumna
Min Xuan co-founded Playmoolah with fellow NOC Silicon Valley alumna Audrey Tan. She is also the founder and CEO of Red Dot, a digital and social innovation consultancy based in Mauritius (where she now calls home). She sees business as a force for change, and enjoy pushing the limits of our imagination.
Dr Li Jingmei
Senior Research Scientist (PI) at Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR
NOC Silicon Valley and NUS Faculty of Science alumna
The NOC Silicon Valley alumna is leading the charge in the fight against breast cancer. Her trailblazing research has won her several prestigious accolades, such as the UNESCO-L’Oréal International For Women In Science Fellowship 2014, and the Singapore National Research Foundation Fellowship 2017. She is also an Asia Tatler Generation T 2018 honouree. Read her story here.
Tan Peck Ying
Co-founder of ps love
NOC Singapore and NUS Faculty of Science alumna
Peck Ying is building a “Fempire” with her feminine tech start-up that creates and distributes non-medicated heat patches that provide relief from menstrual, back and neck pain. They have also created a mobile app to track menstrual cycle. ps love was co-founded by Peck Ying and fellow NOC Singapore alumnus Caleb Leow (NUS School of Design and Environment alumnus). Read more to find out how they are expanding into other Southeast Asian markets.
