More about Yienyee Soh

Yienyee is the cofounder and Group COO at AVANA - a social commerce enabler that empowers more local businesses in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to bring their products online and scale to compete on a global level Yienyee graduated with a Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) from HELP University College, Malaysia. During her university years, she founded an online fashion aggregator called A Shopaholic’s Den - pioneering a strong community of online sellers in Malaysia. 

Yienyee’s passion for helping local businesses to grow has powered her successful career trajectory. The young entrepreneur started organizing offline events to complement the online community. It was during this time that Yienyee discovered the challenges facing online merchants: there was little technology to automate routine tasks such as updating inventories, managing orders, and tracking deliveries. 

This was the spark that drove Yienyee to develop a solution to empower small businesses In 2016, Yienyee teamed up with Luqman, to build AVANA as an affordable and scalable end-to-end platform for local businesses to automate their business operations, tap into social media as discovery and sales channels as well as partner with logistic and payment Today, with a team of more than 80, AVANA empowers more than 100,000 businesses of all sizes and KOLs across the region to grow their business and is looking to empower more across Southeast Asia

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Featured speaker at previous eChai events:
Startup Growth Panel - Stories from Malaysia
CoRise SEA Summit
Founders and startup folks who joined past eChai startup events

The eChai Effect - In Their Words

“eChai has been that turning point in my journey. It gave me a platform when I wasn’t looking for visibility but needed direction. Over the years, it became more than just a network. It became my tribe; a place where conversations sparked collaborations, and strangers became trusted sounding boards. What I value most is how effortlessly eChai brings people together - no airs, no filters, just genuine people with shared dreams. I owe a lot to this community and to Jatin, whose consistency and belief in people have shaped journeys like mine. Forever grateful to be part of something so real.”
Rushabh Shah - Managing Partner - STIR Advisors
Rushabh Shah
Managing Partner - STIR Advisors
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Utpal Vaishnav - Founder @ Upsquare & House of Starts • Angel Investor + LP
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder @ Upsquare & House of Starts • Angel Investor + LP
“When we launched LegalWiz.in back in 2016, concept of procuring legal and compliance services through a digital commerce platform wasn't as prominent in India. eChai played a significant role in providing the early adopters, and building significant positioning in the startup fraternity. Overtime, eChai grew to be a massive network of like-minded entrepreneurs and extended that benefit to all the members in a true "co-rise" spirit. I personally love to attend eChai events, learn from subject matter experts who share relatable and actionable insights and experiences. For startup journeys, it is so important to be surrounded by people who can add relevance, perspective, and push you to do better. Most importantly a group of people where you aren't being judged about things going right or wrong, but be a motivational force that keeps you going, yet keeping you in check. eChai is that place for me!”
Shrijay Sheth - Founder at LegalWiz.in and Hire4Higher Consulting
Shrijay Sheth
Founder at LegalWiz.in and Hire4Higher Consulting

eChai Partner Brands

eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.