Prepared by: AP. Dr. Rossilah Jamil
Ms. Ts. Haslinda Rasip who pursues Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS) Doctorate in Business Administration (Business Innovation), is a professional technologist and an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the tech industry. She now serves as the Chief Technology Officer and co-founder for Dropee.com, an Asian tech start-up that provides a wholesale omni-commerce solution.
The company receives increasing media limelight as an example of a tech solution that helps the Malaysian food supply chain to sustain its business during COVID-19 pandemic. The platform gives opportunities to farmers and fishermen to directly market and sell their produce to wholesalers, distributors, and retail businesses. Dropee hopes to maximize the supply chain effectiveness and minimize production wastage by empowering each stakeholder with a transparent process. Ms. Haslinda’s roles at Dropee includes designing its system roadmap, leading engineering and product teams, and working closely with customers and partners.
Ms. Haslinda is also the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder for BETA Foundation, an institution that advances technoentrepreneurship development and ecosystems in the South East Asian region. Through the Foundation, she provides coaching and mentoring services to technopreneurs and start-up founders through a vast network of public and private stakeholders.
After accumulating some experience in the industry, Ms. Haslinda felt a pressing need for an industry-relevant postgraduate degree that can give her a deeper understanding of her work. She has found that in AHIBS DBA program. “The DBA program is unique and provides beyond-the-boundary business knowledge. The technology component is included in all courses that make learning relatable and relevant to my experience”, she remarks. The program combines both academic and practical perspectives in its curriculum delivery.
Ms. Haslinda is now working on several projects in digitalizing the supply chain especially in the wholesale industry with individuals, businesses, and also government agencies. The main objective of the digitalization transformation is to establish more bankable micro and small-medium enterprises using technology. This similar purpose is pursued in her DBA dissertation in which she is developing a user-centered design framework to improve online businesses in the wholesale industry. Once completed, the framework can potentially contribute to creating an efficient tech solution to promote a sustainable food supply chain industry.