What can we do then to help up-skill and provide that capacity building for those that you believe perhaps should have stronger skills in understanding business, and running sustainable social enterprises?

Oh man, this has to be the Holy grail to be cracked, because let’s be honest, running a regular business by itself is tough. Having to add on all these different layers of value gives it even more complexity.

Honestly, just sharing from my experience, the one thing that I would do differently is that I would have listened to a few mentors a little bit more.

Do it early on, seek out that person who is four or five years your senior in this space, because it really just saves you that heaps of time and mistakes.

Such good advice. Rashvin, you’re a speaker at this year’s . It’s the first year that the forum is going fully online. There are going to be over four thousand entrepreneurs expected to attend. I’m keen to hear what you’re most looking forward to about SEWF Digital?

To begin Tom, this is exciting. We were both there in Ethiopia last year, and it was an amazing feeling!

That vibe is irreplaceable, but I’m honestly excited because digital means so much more inclusivity. I mean, at least from this context many more people can join who can’t afford it. I just see a huge amount of diversity in the content, and I love the way they’ve done it.

They’ve done it by different time zones, so you’ve got different region-specific topics. I think it’s going to be probably the most diverse SEWF.

I certainly agree. I can’t wait for the 21st in September! If our audience is listening, jump onto the webpage.

Rashvin, let’s talk about inspiring projects and initiatives. I’m sure you’ve come across a whole bunch operating in Malaysia or even globally. Which ones do you want to point out that you believe are creating some great positive social change?

I’d go on two sides. The one that I’ve really been impressed with is this group of local designers, who’ve come up with open source technology for coming up with low cost ventilators. What I loved, was that was a combination of the 3-D printing community, the design community coming together, and I’ve seen some really good low-scale, low-cost, high-impact technology coming up.

Even in the education space too what’s been happening is with everything going digital, there’s clear cracks in the internet access divide. I’ve seen some friends in the Philippines who started running classes through SMS.

Again, people using very low-cost tech to solve problems, and I think that is pushing the boundaries of innovation.

Rashvin, we’re coming to an end, I wish we could speak all day. To wrap up, it’d be nice to hear a few books, resources, podcasts or blogs that you’d recommend to our listeners?

I’ve been spending a bit of time reading this book by Chris Voss, [called] Never Split The Difference. It’s on the art of negotiation, and when you’re in business, you’re always dealing with a variety of different spectrums, so that’s one. Honestly, I was reading the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, which is my fiction book!

It’s good to tune out and get off the non-fiction business books sometimes!

It really helps. It kind of takes you to a different space. I’ve just been there spending a lot of time basically on FutureLearn. FutureLearn has been a really good source for me to access different content, especially [with my] lifelong learning style. It’s been my source of knowledge.

On that note, I know that you’ve just had a collaboration to develop a new MOOC there. Tell us a little bit more about it.

Yes, thank you. It’s been created with another partner called Living in Minca, led by Andres Morales from Columbia and Spain.

An absolute legend too who can also be found on the podcast!

Oh, that’s cool, you can go check him out! We’ve worked on this together. It’s broken down social innovation, especially in sustainable solutions, covering everything from the ideation part and the different models to apply technologies to use, so check it out.

Wonderful. Rashvin, it has been an absolute pleasure to talk to you today. We’ll certainly look forward to seeing you at SEWF Digital this year. Thanks so much for your really generous insights and time, and we’ll look forward to tracking your journey.