I am the Founder & CEO of Doing Business in Asia Alliance (DBiAA). The idea of which was developed when I was working with my batchmate Masahiro Kawakami on a year-long Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) to produce policy recommendations for the Australian government on supporting Australian SMEs to expand their presence in the Southeast Asia, as requested by their client organisation Australian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

During this project, I was fascinated by the fact that SMEs, all across the region, were faced with similar challenges to enter and/or expand in new markets, regardless of their origin. As a public policy student, I wanted to find an innovative and customised way to assist and guide the Asia-based SMEs, which are the real backbone of any economy, particularly in Asia, and it was logical for me to leverage the network I had built at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP).

David Wilks (Public Policy '16), from Australia, was the first one to encourage me to set up the DBiAA, which now has presence in Mongolia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal and Hong Kong, within mere two years of establishment. My batchmate, Prashanta Pradhan, from Nepal, was one of the first believers of the alliance, and now the alliance is gradually becoming a strategic point of unity for other LKYSPP current and past students, many of whom (would like to) contribute to and increase their socio-economic impacts at home and abroad, through collective efforts.

The team is very enthusiastic about expanding our outreach and maximising our impacts even further. For instance, during its recent annual meeting, held in Phnom Penh, DBiAA and the Committee of the LKYSPP Alumni Chapter in Cambodia, under the leadership of Mr Hor Serey Vath (Public Policy '12), signed an MoU. The LKYSPP brand has provided us with a strong trust and credibility with our current and potential collaborators and potential beneficiaries; therefore, the hope is that more LKYSPP alumni and alumni chapters will join DBiAA and harness the LKYSPP networks and capabilities in advancing inclusive economic policy and sustainable business practice - focused collaborations regionally and even globally.