Kuala Lumpur– Forest Interactive is proud to announce that Johary Mustapha, its CEO, won the Most Influential Sustainable Entrepreneur Award along with other Asian stakeholders striving to make the world a better place.
Asia Pacific CSR Council Award
The Most Influential Sustainable Entrepreneur is an Asia Pacific CSR Council initiative that recognizes and honors businesses, projects, and ideas whose goal is to link innovation and profit with sustainability. The award is based on the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.The idea is simple and efficient: make the Council work closely with local companies and NGO’s in order to contribute to the UN Goals.
Johary Mustapha Awarded As One Of The Most Influential Sustainable Entrepreneurs
Johary Mustapha, CEO of Forest Interactive, is honored to be part of the 100 most influential sustainable entrepreneurs in 2018. This is the recognition of his numerous efforts to string together his long-term dream in the tech industry. Among his ideals stand the strong belief that everyone should have equal chances for a good education, regardless of social background or financial status, as well as the need to inspire the new generations and to nurture future innovators.
Indeed, Johary Mustapha supported, participated and financed projects such as LevelUp@Schools organized by MDEC whose goals are to inspire students, to provide training by technology experts and to sponsor the events as well as going to school fairs in different regions and sharing his knowledge and experience in the hopes of triggering a passion that may be already be in the pedestal of students’ minds. Great achievements came out of it. Some students won prizes for their work, in particular games development, while others discovered a passion for new technologies and decided to pursue a career in the tech industry.
But it doesn’t stop here as Forest Interactive is also involved in social initiatives internally and externally, such as providing health care to employees and supporting NGOs, as well as internal green action (paperless office, old material reuse and encouraging the staff to have a ‘save the environment mindset’).
SDGx Lecture Series
The Most Influential Sustainable Entrepreneur Awards ceremony took place after the SDGx Lecture Series. This initiative focuses on educating and promoting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Being aligned with TEDx style, the talks are spontaneous but informative.
On January 30, the talks’ topic was “Sustainable Financing & how Sustainable Development Goals are becoming a revolution to the traditional CSR approach.
”Matthias Gelber, also called “the greenest person on the planet”, was the first speaker. He exposed his mission of starting a green revolution in Malaysia and gave advices to businesses on how to start their own revolution one little action at a time.
“CSR budget is always the first to be cut in the case of financial problems. Why? Because it is usually not done in a sustainable way. Giving money to NGO is generous but it is only working if the company has money. However there is no need for money to do CSR projects.” said Mr Gelber.
He further emphasizes that change should come from within, in one person’s home, sharing how his previous tenant wondered why his electric bill was low—it was because he utilized the light of natural daylight and opened the curtains more.
Later on, the audience could hear Dr. Ahcene Lahsasna from the Shariah Committee of Maybank, whose talk was focused on Sustainable Financing and how to make decisions for the lasting benefit of both the client and the society. It was then followed by Mr Kevin Lew’s presentation of the Bukit Bintang City Centre’s project, a residential and entertainment area integrated in its environment fulfilling the need of the inhabitants in terms of transportation, facilities, and connection to nature.
Indeed the future doesn’t only look bright with lights of gadgets, we also have to ensure that we use resources responsibly for the earth that we live in. Forest Interactive is committed to nurture and inspire future innovators to build on their dreams and support the SDGs.
About Asia Pacific CSR Council :
The Council role is to maintain and strengthen dialogue between stakeholders and governments on how to adopt and exhibit social responsibility and sustainable growth and to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations in the Asia Pacific private and public sector. It promotes the idea that working on employees wellness is directly linked to business success.
About Johary Mustapha:
Johary Mustapha is an entrepreneur involved in the mobile and tech industry. A hands-on technical person, he founded Forest Interactive in 2006 from his earlier background of working with broadcasting and ICT companies. Johary has a long historical understanding of the mobile industry and its growth in Southeast Asia. His vast experience in the business has enabled him to grow the company to a diverse workforce of over 130 talents expanding market reach across 36 countries and offices in 11 countries across the globe.
About Forest Interactive:
Established in 2006, our headquarters is located in the center of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with global operations across 36 countries. Throughout its inception, the company has entrenched itself to play an important part within the vibrant mobile industry, working closely with Mobile Network Operators, Industry Regulators, Government Agencies, Consumer Groups and related associations in ensuring as well as enabling innovative solutions for the mobile ecosystem. We have established a competitive portfolio of end-to-end solutions for our telco, enterprise and content partners that reach out to more than 2.9B subscribers worldwide and has already partnered with over 100 corporate clients and 93 mobile operators across Asia, the Middle-East and the USA.
