Hong Kong social entrepreneur who quit her job to help others on fighting inequality and saving the environment
Former investment banker Keilem Ng already ran a beach-cleaning charity before joining a philanthropy network last year. Now she is helping poor Nepalese girls become athletes, tackling tough environmental issues and much more
When Keilem Ng quit her well-paying corporate job to work for a charity last year, friends and colleagues were shocked. “So many people sent me messages to ‘rescue me’. I’ve never had so many job offers in my life!” she laughs.
Stepping away from a lucrative career at a Hong Kong investment firm last June, Ng became a director at Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), a Singapore-based funding network that builds and promotes investment in social projects across Asia. “Basically, [it is] making the world a better place,” Ng says. She currently devotes a great deal of time to environmental projects, such as those that deal with waste issues in Hong Kong.
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The 36-year-old Hong Kong-born social entrepreneur would rather see those concerned for her well-being turn their attention to people and projects that are far more in need of help.
“I’m very enthusiastic and tend to make others enthusiastic too. I think the key is being genuine and telling it like it is,” she says. “A lot of people have said, ‘Wow you’re so brave!’ or have offered to write a book about me. But I still earn a reasonable salary and I have a lot.”
Naturally driven and confident, Ng uses her influence to help others see the part they play in some of the world’s most pressing problems.
“We’re all living our lives doing things repeatedly on a daily or weekly basis – for example, going to buy coffee or groceries. The actions – by our own replication or by millions of others doing the same thing – have a huge impact. If we change our habits only a little bit, it can be very easy,” she says.
