M Link in conversation with Joyce Lau, Founder and Director of Apprize Biz
Tell us about the company and its journey to where it stands now?
Apprize was set-up to communicate my passion for Arts, Architecture and Business. Thus Apprize evolved into a multi-faceted business framed to provide value-added components to life, distinctly grouped under Arts advocate, Science source and Management consulting. Apprize is now focusing on the science component of the business – disinfecting, bio-agricultural and food additives of
premier manufacturers and energy-saving glass film. We are strongly supported directly by our principal manufacturers in Japan, South Africa and Singapore. Our hygiene product, CleanLABTM, is a unique food grade disinfecting innovation, which is totally safe to use on food in workspaces such as processing plants, kitchens, garbage centres, etc. It kills a broad spectrum of micro-organisms in
seconds, thus attacking biofilm and reducing bad odour. Our bio-agricultural and feed additives target the farming industry to enhance bio-sustainability and productivity; bio-molecules capable of replacing chemical fertilisers improve disease management and plantation productivity whilst our feed additives for livestock are proven for the last 30 years to yield healthy animals and meat source. Apprize energy-saving nano-glass film is our latest exciting material, providing a cost effective solution to the construction and building industries, ideal for affordable housing, which the UAE government is advocating.
What are some of the most significant challenges the company has encountered so far?
Basically there are two main challenges facing SMEs in the UAE
1. The demographics: Being a migrant city of transient workforce, building a sustainable connection with stakeholders at all levels from decision maker to the implementers is an intensive effort. The mentality on importance of hygiene varies greatly and still lacks behind compared to developed countries.
2. The big corporate culture of this region: Corporations are movers of the market, where the business landscape is defined to their terms and advantage. I have encountered a big corporate service provider iterating that their corporate client has instructed on a generic ban on bleach. With such blanket policies, information is siphoned and misrepresented, this excludes genuine innovations to
penetrate the marketplace and limits improved choices.
How can more women be encouraged to participate in modern economy?
Empowering women to enter the modern workforce is complicated. For many, there are physical and psychological consequences in the workplace, such as harassment, discrimination, and shame. Personally, I do encounter my share of disadvantaged situations, and there is just no respite, it is cultural and biological conditioning too elusive to resolve. The technical aspects that can assist would be to reduce human contact, to make gender anonymous, so the women do not depend on the appropriate
reception of men, allowing them to thrive independently in their economic environments. Already with modern technology, such as e-commerce and blogs, more women have emerged. The virtual mobility has presented a perfect opportunity for both empowering women and encouraging sustainable development.
Please tell us about the company’s expansion plans over the next 10 years.
Apprize’s vision is ‘Appreciate+value to life’; applying via multiplicities in Arts, Science and Management. Our current efforts are on the Science component i.e. Clean LABTM and energy-saving glass film, which is the driving business of Apprize. I am confident of it maturing into a sustainable business in the UAE within the next two to three years.Over the ensuing years, Apprize will build further upon our partnership with quality responsible market leaders, to inform, bridge premium knowledge and the use of researched products with our focused markets in the MENA region. As architecture, arts and music are always close to my heart; their development would be in parallel though with different resource, timeline and intensity as they are project-based. At this moment, I am personally committed on a commercial design project whilst enjoying the pursuit of a global concert alliance involving musically gifted autistic children!
