Inspirational mumpreneurs in Singapore we love and admire!

Inspiring mumpreneurs of Singapore

Let's take a look at these Singapore mums who have empowered themselves and others through their vision, tenacity and determination to succeed.

They are not only loving mums, but also successful businesswomen who have contributed to society in many meaningful ways. They all started out with a dream that they turned into reality, without losing sight of their most precious possessions – their children.

Jenny Tay

Jenny Tay is the managing director of Direct Funeral Services, the co-founder of Direct Life Foundation and Flower Story, a floral design business.

You might have spotted her and hubby Darren Cheng in Channel 5’s documentary series, 'Death is our Business'.

The couple are parents to a girl.

Many might consider the funeral industry as taboo, but Jenny feels that it has taught her lessons for life.

She has been quoted as saying, "The funeral business taught me that in the end, what matters most is how loved you are, by your family. I have learnt to be more appreciative of my family and to have more time to spend with them."

Did you know: Jenny and her hubby planned their baby, and they were really surprised that within a month of trying, they conceived!

Roshni Mahtani

Roshni Mahtani is the CEO and Founder of Tickled Media, the publisher of media assets - theAsianparent.com and Asianmoneyguide. She is also mummy to an adorable little girl.

Her company reaches 10 million Asian women monthly and has operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India.

Roshni is also actively involved in the start-up community. In 2015, she founded the Female Founders Network, a group of over 2,000 female founders. She also sits on the board of TIE Singapore.

Roshni has graced the cover of multiple magazines and newspapers in the region. Her company has been mentioned in over 200 media outlets ranging from the BBC to the Singapore Straits Times.

Did you know? The idea for theAsianparent was born when Roshni was babysitting two girls aged 3 and 6 in New York!

Elaine Kim

Dr. Elaine Kim, a mum of two, is a palliative care doctor with a flair for fashion. She is co-owner of Trinity Gallery (Singapore) and Trinity Bridal (Hong Kong). Both specialise in bringing in designer bridal gowns by red carpet labels such as Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and more.

Aside from that, Elaine is also the co-founder of CRIB, a social enterprise that empowers women to become successful entrepreneurs. She has also just launched Milk and Honey, an events company for beautiful celebrations.

Women who inspire her: What inspires Elaine the most about Audrey Hepburn is that she used her wealth and influence to help the underprivileged, working as Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF during her later years.

Did you know? Elaine’s first business was a party planning business that she started when she was just 17.

Sher-li Torrey

Sher-li Torrey, mum of two, is the founder of Mums@Work (Singapore), a social enterprise that helps women find the perfect balance between being a mum and having a career.

Mums@Work, besides being the first business community support for mumpreneurs, also organised Singapore’s first ‘Mumpreneur of the Year Award’ in 2014. They also host monthly meet-ups for mumpreneurs, an online support group, mumpreneur workshops and an annual ‘Mama’s Bazaar’.

Women who inspire her: Sher-li is inspired by Aung Sang Suu Kyi for her patience, tolerance, will to succeed and devotion to her own people from Myanmar.

Sher-li’s own mother’s determination to balance her career and family while never missing her kids’ significant moments, is another source of inspiration for this mumprenuer.

Did you know? Despite the name of her company, Sher-li gets many men writing in asking to be accepted as member-mums. She is also often asked when she's going to set up ‘Dads@Work’!

Amutha Saravanan

Amutha Saravanan is COO and Co-Founder of Da Vinci Group Pte Ltd. Da Vinci Group (DVG) is a premium educational and training services provider, whose mission is to stimulate creativity and productivity through the concept of Neuroeducation using pottery as a platform.

Using fun medium like clay and drama, kids learn to tackle issues like focus and attention leading to much creativity, creativity, innovation, abstract thinking and problem solving.

Amutha and her hubby Saravanan Manorkorum have one child.

Apart from juggling meetings and training sessions, this mummy also finds the time to exercise, go on dates with her husband and pick her son from school, all without a helper!

She has this advice for all mumpreneurs, "Don’t give up! Hang in there and figure out the purpose in what you’re doing. Once you’re clear on your purpose, things can happen that you don’t really expect."

"Starting a business is not for the faint-hearted, especially if you want your business to create a huge impact in the world."

Did you know? Amutha has a Masters in Psychology by Research, focusing in Clinical Neuropsychology!

Violet Lim

Violet, a mum of two, is the founder of the Lunch Actually Group. This company is a conglomerate of dating brands that brings like-minded singles together, creates meaningful relationships and nurtures happy marriages.

Women who inspire her: Violet is inspired by Claire Chiang, who exemplifies how a modern woman can have it all – a successful career, a happy marriage and a fulfilling family life.

Closer to home, Violet’s maternal grandmother, who sent many of her 11 children to study abroad through sheer hard work, intelligence and business acumen, is greatly admired by this mumpreneur.

Did you know? Violet started her business with her husband when they were still dating. Today, 10 years since, they are still happily working together.

Winnie Chan

Winnie Chan is Founder & CEO, Bynd Artisan, and mother of two.

Her childhood dream was to join her family's bookbinding business, Grandluxe. Her father, Mr Percy Chan, is chairman of Grandluxe.

She founded Bynd Artisan in 2014, offering personalised notebooks and stationery. Bynd Artisan collaborates with artistic talents, personalises paper and leather accessories, and runs craft workshops.

The brand reflects Ms Chan's fight to take the dying bookbinding industry into the 21st century through constant innovation.

"Bynd Artisan is my way to provide our younger customers with a tactile experience of choosing and making their own notebooks - something I want to preserve even as we enter a digital world," Ms Chan says.

She also considers herself blessed that her 2 kids are now grown up, and share with her what is trending in social media, and among youngsters.

Did you know? Growing up, Winnie’s ambition was to be her dad's secretary!

Jaelle Ang

Jaelle Ang is Founding director, Country Group Development, and mother of four.

She has been involved in one of the largest project in central Bangkok, which includes the first Four Seasons Private Residences in Asia and a Capella Hotel. She is also co-founder of the The Great Room, a co-working space which is now home to 75 companies.

She once said, "The two roles of motherhood and corporate leadership is connected by a common narrative of the importance of emotional intelligence. At home and at work, I find myself continually honing this by investing time to hear ideas out, letting people make mistakes because the spirit or culture is more important to nurture than to get to an outcome faster."

Did you know? Jaelle Ang’s first job was as a lifeguard at the University of London club swimming pool when she was 18!

Ayesha Khanna

Ayesha Khanna is the CEO and Co-Founder of ADDO AI, a data science and artificial intelligence consultancy firm. She has also authored a book, Straight Through Processing.

In 2017, ADDO AI was featured in Forbes magazine as one of four leading artificial intelligence companies in Asia. Ayesha was also named one of South East Asia's groundbreaking female entrepreneurs by Forbes magazine in 2018.

This mother of two is also the Founder of 21C GIRLS, a charity that delivers free coding and artificial intelligence classes to girls in Singapore. Besides 21C Girls, Khanna also started The Keys Academy to help boost the entrepreneurial spirit and leadership skills of students in Singapore.

On how she manages her time between mummying, managing companies and hectic work and travel schedules, Ayesha tells Peak magazine, "You have to make choices as a working woman."

"There are a limited number of hours in a day and it’s rubbish to think that you can have it all; something’s got to give. You don’t see me at parties because I work and I spend time with my kids."

Did you know? Ayesha and her family have visited over 40 countries together! Says Ayesha: "Travel and living in other cities is a big part of how we want to educate our children. Technology is important but so is culture."

Yiping Goh

Yiping Goh is the CEO and co-founder of All Deals Asia, one of the largest deal portals in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Goh started All Deals Asia with her younger brother in 2010, when she was 28. Both active deal-seekers, they wanted a way to find the best promotions, without having to trawl multiple deal sites.

In the next three years, she helped Lippo Group to build from scratch Indonesian e-commerce site Matahari Mall. Right now she is focussing on how AI can be applied to solve problems, especially in developing countries.

She says, "At the companies I’ve co-founded or am co-leading, I emphasise three things: to keep reinventing ourselves to stay relevant, experiment constantly, and collaborate widely. When you put people from diverse backgrounds together with the same goal – good ideas happen."

Yiping is currently expecting her first baby!

Did you know? Yiping Goh now lives and breathes e-commerce, but in fact, she had studied real estate!

Pranoti Nagarkar Israni

Pranoti, mum of one, turned her dream of being an inventor into reality by co-founding Zimplistic Pte Ltd.

This company brings to life purpose-led innovation, such as Rotimatic, the world’s first ever fully automatic chapatti machine.

Women who inspire her: Pranoti admires both her mum and grandmum for their independent thinking abilities and capability to live their lives on their own terms.

Did you know? Pranoti got around on a motorbike during the first three years of her startup in order to save time and money.

Olga Iserlis

Olga Iserlis is founder of events planning agency Twise. She organises more than 30 events a year!

"I create celebrations," she says, "All my events are celebrations of life, people and creativity."

Olga is a mother of 2 children.

Did you know? Before she entered event planning, Olga started a business selling New York-style bagels to Singaporeans. She would sometimes stand on Orchard Road handing out free bagels to passers-by!

Rowena Bhagchandani

Rowena Bhagchandani is CEO and Co-Founder at BLK J (pronounced "Block J"), an independent creative agency.

Blk J's stated ambition is to become the partner of choice for the best brands of the new economy.

Rowena is a council member of the Institute of Advertising of Singapore and champions talent. In addition to being Chairperson of the IAS Hall of Fame 2015 and 2016, she also drives initiatives to help position Singapore as the Marketing Talent Hub for Asia.

She is also a doting mother of two girls and an active grassroots member.

Did you know? Rowena is an ardent Manchester United fan.

Carmen Benitez

Mum of three gorgeous boys, Carmen is the founder of Fetch Plus Inc. An innovative marketing and advertising platform, Fetch Plus serves media and telecommunications companies.

Women who inspire her: General Electric-Saudi Arabia's COO, Manar Al-Moneef, inspires Carmen with her determination to move up the corporate ladder, while helping other women do the same.

Carmen also loves and admires her sisters for their dedication to family and their ability to keep her grounded and focused on what’s important.

Did you know? Carmen applies the meaning of joie de vivre (joy of living) to all areas of her life.

This is whether she is at home enjoying time with her kids, or at work supporting the people who work for her business.

Yvon Bock

As a mummy of 4, Yvon Bock knew how challenging and stressful the breastfeeding journey was, especially for working mums.

She tells The Business Times, "To be a working mum and exclusively give milk to my child, I had to express at work. There are so many steps involved to pump, express, transfer, defrost and to feed with repeated steps of transferring containers."

"During this entire process I was thinking, shouldn’t there be a way to make our lives easier? We should be able to express, store and feed with the same container. It was these pain points that really drove and inspired me to start Hegen."

Hegen baby bottles were born after almost 5 years of intensive research and development, and are designed to minimise spillage and wastage, and to make the nursing experience simple and hassle-free. It’s revolutionary features include it’s twist-to-open square bottle design, as well as its interchangeable feeding and storage bottle lids.

Did you know? Yvon left the corporate banking industry when she first became a mother. She had then wanted to be a stay-at-home mum!

Huang Shao-Ning

In 2000, Shao-Ning co-founded JobsCentral, Singapore’s leading online job portal. This mum of four now works as an angel investor and mentor to startup companies.

Women who inspire her: Shao-Ning admires Hellen Keller for her thirst for learning despite the extreme odds that she faced in life. Margaret Thatcher's willingness to persevere with what she felt was right also serves as an inspiration to Shao-Ning.

Did you know? Shao-Ning only watches comedies because she feels life is stressful enough as it is and she could always do with more laughter.

Charlotte Nors

Charlotte Nors is Managing Director at Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT). She is a proud graduate of the DeVos Institute's International Arts Management Fellowship programme at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC.

As the MD of SRT her focus is to ensure SRT continues to produce and present outstanding theatre and learning programmes servicing a large number of patrons of all ages.

Working with SRT’s Board of Directors she ensures that SRT lives up to the highest standards of good governance, whilst providing stable and engaged employment to the team. Charlotte is a strategic thinker with significant experience in business development and public relations.

Did you know? Charlotte Nors once dreamt of making it big in IT, and started a dotcom business in Asia!

Grace Clapham

Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, Grace Clapham has lived in Asia for nearly 20 years and spent majority of her primary and high school years in Singapore before moving to live in South America, Australia and London.

A graduate from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts, Media & Communications, Grace is a highly creative individual bringing a unique set of talents and her extensive connections across Asia Pacific.

With a passion for inspiring young entrepreneurs and individuals to take action and make a change, Grace organises and is the co-founder of various eco-systems and communities within the Asia region.

Grace is the Co-Founder of The Change School, Change Ventur.es and Secret {W} Business, Connector at Plus Social Good, Co-Organiser of CreativeMornings Singapore, SheSays Singapore, Ambassador & Co-Curator of Deceler8 and a prior Lead Curator for TEDxSingapore Women 2010, 2012 and 2013. She is also an Mentor at Hub Singapore working with the young startups in Singapore.

Did you know? Grace loves to travel and meet new people, especially kick-ass entrepreneurs and changemakers.

Michele Ng

Michele, mum of one, is the founder of Aide de Camp, a brand that specialises in stylish and practical bags for the modern day woman. This mum also blogs at www.micheleng.com where she puts up craft and do-it-yourself (DIY) tutorials.

Women who inspire her: Michele is inspired to always be appreciative and to never complain by the attitude of her "Popo" (maternal grandmother) who raised six young kids on her own.

Her mum, on the other hand, taught her everything that she knows about DIY, and is another strong source of inspiration to her.

Did you know? Aide de Camp was launched midway through Michele’s pregnancy. Even though she was told not to over-exert herself due to complications in her pregnancy, she persevered with the help of her family and close friends to make her business the success that it is today.

Mouna Aouri Langendorf

Mouna, a mum of two, is the founder of Woomentum. The company helps women access advice, mentorship and funds through crowd-sourcing, helping them build a sustainable and profitable businesses.

Women who inspire her: Mouna draws inspiration from a quote by Anne Sweeney, a former Walt Disney president: "Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules and build a life you're proud to live."

Emi Takemura is also someone who has inspired Mouna, especially during the last fourteen months of her startup journey, for her intelligence, openness and business acumen.

Did you know? Mouna has a civil engineering background and has spent years designing and building bridges.

Yasmin Begum

Yasmin, a mum of three, is the founder of Nursing Muslimah, which specialises in modest nursing and maternity wear and accessories for mums on-the-go.

Women who inspire her: Yasmin’s mum taught her the valuable lesson of forgiveness and seeing good in everyone. Yasmin also looks up to her grandmother who raised her five kids as a single mum by running a food stall.

Did you know? Yasmin approaches life as a traveller, learning new things and working in different industries over the years, which prepared her for her latest journey as a successful mumpreneur.

Charina Widjaja

Charina, a wondermum of one, is one is the founders and owners of DFW Creative, a public relations and events agency for lifestyle brands. Their annual flagship event Digital Fashion Week helps strengthen the local fashion industry.

Women who inspire her: Charina is inspired by how Victoria Beckham raised a fashion empire by persevering with doing what she loved, despite naysayers at the beginning of her fashion career. She is also inspired by her own mum's persistence and love for her family.

Did you know? Charina is a self-proclaimed geek. She also dreams of building an educational hub in Indonesia for the next generation.

Written by

Nalika Unantenne

inspirationalmumpreneurs