Roslan Abdul Wahab
I have a long experience in senior management positions. I was a Mechanical Engineer with several companies prior to becoming a lecturer. I have been lecturing at several universities and institutes both in Malaysia and New Zealand for about 11 years. Later, I was involved in a management role for several companies that I helped run. In all my management positions, I have managed to scale my companies.
I started my entrepreneurial journey as a Business Development Manager in 2005 for an architecture and landscape company, Polis Group Ltd which is based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
I then became a mutual fund consultant in Malaysia In 2006 dealing with investment. I rose to the rank of Agency Manager in less than 4 years with one of the largest private Mutual Fund in Malaysia. I still work as business manager for the landscape and architecture firm till today.
A few years after that as I gained enough experience in managing businesses and investment, I conducted training in small business management and investment.
In 2010 together with some friends and clients, we formed Al Falah Wealth Sdn Bhd. We were involved in property investment and management. We sold our properties many years later before we pivoted into research and consultancy.
In 2014 one of our clients suggested we help a food manufacturer to market their health products. We later formed an online company called Dhuryyah Al Laily Marketing or DLM for short. We sold health products initially and later we sold up to 60 different type of food products online. We gave free delivery and this was before other online brands came to Malaysia.
During the pandemic in 2020, my team and I focused more on helping others as a social entrepreneur. We pivoted to form a donation based company that focus on food to help the poor. As I was ramping up my social business, I discovered the power of blockchain to protect genuine poor from scammers.
Together with my team, we later formed a cooperative to help promote blockchain education. Our cooperative called Al Falah Wealth Berhad focuses on developing syllabus and promoting blockchain technology via universities
Our brush with blockchain initially didn't impress me. We lost significant data to the so called blockchain which used cloud server as its platform. My frustration turned into a passionate search for a genuine blockchain. I found a cool blockchain called internet computer (ICP) I am so glad to be the first to bring ICP blockchain to Malaysia.
Together with UKM, we formed the first ICP Blockchain Lab in Malaysia, UKM (The National University of Malaysia) at Bangi campus in 2023 (still under construction). I conducted many blockchain courses together with the UKM team. The First ever ICP workshop conducted at UKM (The National University of Malaysia) was also conducted at UKM, Bangi, Selangor.
I was also invited by University of Malaya to speak at an International Conference on Computation for Science and Technology.
I am currently an adjunct lecturer at Petronas University of Technology, UTP. My passion for design, innovation and deal-making has proven to be useful in sharing knowledge with society and networking.
I am currently the Principal of AFW Blockchain Academy, where I lead the design and delivery of innovative courses tailored for the blockchain community and the public at large (blockchainacademy.com.my).
Driven by a passion for emerging technologies, I also played a key role in founding the Blockchain Interest Group (BIG) — a dynamic initiative launched in collaboration with the Institute of Visual Informatics (IVI-UKM) and my cooperative, Koperasi Al Falah Wealth Berhad. As the Community Coordinator of BIG, I am dedicated to raising blockchain awareness and inspiring meaningful engagement among students, professionals, and the wider community.
With all the stories above, I have to say that it's all a journey that was sprinkled with challenges and NOT ALWAYS rewarded with sweet success. The truth is, it was all very hard work. I have to sacrifice a lot to get to do what I did.
More importantly, I BELIEVE it is not entirely my effort. It is all predestined. You dont believe? Read Fooled by Randomness by Nassem Taleb to see what I mean.
Read more about my strange, intrepid and sometimes scary and risky journey to discover why I am doing what I am doing..
