Joyce means business

Joyce means business

Migration is a necessity not a luxury, says Joyce Ong, a Singaporean-born businesswoman who has lived and worked in London for 13 years.

“For a city like London to thrive,” she explains, “you need sensible migration policies to bring the best and brightest to the country - but at the same time recognising that UK has a long record in helping migrants and refugees from certain parts of the world to have better life in this country. 

“The reason UK does that is because it is a basic right for every human being to have a shelter on their head, food and education. It is a responsibility of developed countries, not only UK, and I think they should continue to do so.”

Joyce is a post-graduate with MBA from of the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and a Bachelor of Science from the National University of Singapore.

After working for several years in banking in Singapore and Switzerland, she moved to London under the Highly Skilled Migrants visa programme. She set up her own business, while raising a family; her partner is British and her 10-year-old daughter was born and raised here. She is positive about the capital, “I love London. It’s a place I have always felt comfortable in.”

Nevertheless, she knows hard work is needed to get established: “I had to start from scratch in many ways and find out who can help and slowly build my network.”

The first three priorities, she says, are researching where to get the information you need, finding out about which services can help you, and networking with relevant people.

She owns a business of building cool, clever apps, helping small companies and start-ups in London to grow; her clients include gyms, beauty salons and the organic pet food industry. She is also a licenced partner of a Leicester-based company that specialises in building apps for small businesses. 

Joyce also gives regular talks on mobile marketing. Audiences have included the Institute of Directors, City Business Library, Idea Store Whitechapel and Kingston University Women's Enterprise Network. 

Her ambition is to expand the business and develop different product ranges. By mid-2018, she hopes to introduce video courses on mobile marketing for small businesses and start-ups in addition to face-to-face workshops.

Joyce describes herself as a mother and a businesswoman and emphasises the importance of businesswomen and career-women as role models for their children, especially girls.