A Malaysian businessman who once led a food delivery platform now delivers orders himself. At its peak, his company worked with 3,000 riders across three states. Profits reached about six million ringgit, roughly 1.5 million dollars. Then an incident damaged the platform's digital infrastructure and core operations. Profits began falling in early 2021, and losses piled up. He sold his personal assets so that his staff could still be paid.
Some people who had been close to him began keeping their distance. He believes they feared he would ask to borrow money. A former employee helped him find the strength to start over. That rider had earned only five dollars one day, yet felt happy to buy food for his child. Those words, he said, gave him motivation and hope to rise again. He now runs errands for five to ten ringgit each and dreams of building a company once more.