For a Rainy Day

Wahine Capital co-founder Rejina Rahim on leaving a cushy corporate life to found a tech startup that lets women take ownership of their financial wellbeing

- Tania Jayatilaka

Life is unpredictable—that’s about the only thing that one can plan for. Rejina Rahim has always been a planner. From a young age, she aspired to be financially independent and was never averse to the idea of working hard in the so-called man’s world. After studying international law in university and freelancing as a stringer reporter for The Malay Mail, her foray into capital markets began when she was offered a job as a legal officer at a stockbroking firm. 

“I was about to get married, and I wanted to be financially independent,” she recalls. “This was at a time when almost everyone, even your local hawker stall owner, was making money from the stock market. The Securities Commission had just been established, so there wasn’t much regulation yet. My job scope shifted as I went along and I had no one to guide me. I learned how to be independent very quickly.”

The resolve for financial independence and stability came once again after Rejina had her first child at the age of 26. “I started thinking, ‘Ok, I’ve now got this new life to think about, and I have to be responsible. I can’t just depend on my husband’s salary to sort us out.”