Memori CEO and co-founder Queenie Chong, the first Bruneian to be selected as The Edmund Hillary Fellow said she is honoured to have been selected and hopes to be a collaborative bridge for start-ups, entrepreneurs and youth between Brunei and New Zealand.
The fellowship offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and start-up teams to live and work in New Zealand to create scalable and positive global impact. Launched in early 2017, up to 100 international and 20 New Zealand-based fellows each year, undergo a selective process and become part of a diverse community of entrepreneurs and investors.
It includes a Global Impact Visa, a three-year open work visa for New Zealand, and access to partner networks and individualised support. The fellowship’s purpose is to incubate solutions to global problems from New Zealand and make a lasting impact on the world.
Edmund Hillary Fellows include Ara Hu, co-founder of Mobike (acquired by Meituan Dianping for USD2.7 billion); Cameron Priest, CEO of Trade Gecko (acquired by Intuit for estimated USD80 million); and Frederick Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase (estimated value of USD8 billion).
Memori was the Top 3 start-ups at Cycle 4 of DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) Accelerate Bootcamp.
Memori has gone on to be validated and recognised by international start-up competitions, the latest being the winner at Pitch@Palace ASEAN 2019, ASEAN Business Awards 2019 (Startup and Innovation Driven Entrepreneur category), Brunei Ricebowl Startup Award (2019) – Best Life Helper and most recently, a graduate of Y Combinator Startup School.
