WHILE growing up in Ipoh, and being the "big sister" in the family, Karen Puah had to give tuition so that she could buy stationery for her three younger brothers.
The thought of investing to grow one's wealth was not something she would think about. It was unheard of, as putting food on the table was more important than anything else.
"My parents taught me to save money and the younger me saw money as more for survival. Now I see money as a tool that can be used to make the community a better place."
Puah has come a long way since leaving her hometown in her teens to study in the city.
Today, she is a female leader in a male-dominated financial technology (fintech) industry.
When fintech first came about, many deemed it to be a passing phase or a disruptive threat.
Puah, who is Fintech Association of Malaysia president and also Fundnel Malaysia country manager, has set her sights on bringing fintech to the next level.
"Fintech has evolved since I first heard about it in 2016. It now has the ability to empower a business," she said.
Puah described herself as someone with resilience and tenacity, adding that she had to push and prove herself in the fintech space, which remained a male-dominated space. .
"I was among the pioneer batch of members in the association back in 2016. Many bankers were sceptical about fintech. They saw it as a phase that would soon end and be forgotten.
"But things did not end. Many bankers are today leaving conventional banking to go into digital banking.
"Association members have tirelessly met with regulators for roundtable discussions. When I was elected as president last year, I knew I wanted to focus on governance and compliance."
Fintech space faced a deficit of trust in the early days. But today, the association has close to 100 members while there are 230 identified fintech companies nationwide.
Puah, who holds a Master's of Business Administration from Asia-eUniversity specialising in entrepreneurship and a diploma in Islamic finance from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants United Kingdom, was vice-president for two terms before she took over as president.
"My goal is for Fintech Association to be the go-to organisation when any information concerning financial is sought," she said, adding that the association's new framework was to tap the insurance and takaful opportunities.
She has been and continues to be an active advocate for women's involvement in entrepreneurship and technology, as seen by her role as ambassador and Malaysia head for She Loves Tech, a global platform committed to closing the funding gap for women entrepreneurs.
Members of She Loves Tech are either women entrepreneurs or businesses that impact women, such as sanitary pads, fertility equipment and devices and scarves.
"We put these women entrepreneurs on the international stage, provide them with more media exposure and opportunities on Visual Capitalist, one of the fastest growing online publishers globally, which focuses on topics such as markets, technology, energy and the world economy."
Puah said women were often asked "is anyone taking care of your children?" or "is it too much for you to do?" during job interviews or at the workplace — questions that men don't get asked.
"We hope that women will get equality in the world someday, and no gender bias is going to affect a woman's success in the workplace."
With more than 20 years of experience in advertising, fast-moving consumer goods sector and finance industries, she certainly fits the bill of a trailblazer who is set to dazzle and innovate Malaysia's fintech space.
The writer was a 'New Straits Times' journalist before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between NST and Tradeview, the author of "Once Upon A Time In Bursa".