Thanaselan Rajendran

Managing Director, Pepper Labs

Malaysia

Thanaselan Rajendran is the managing director of Pepper Labs, a social innovation enterprise in Malaysia advancing inclusive economic participation through technology-driven programs. He has scaled initiatives that enabled 200 women entrepreneurs to generate $500,000 in revenue and established employment pathways for 540 youth. Most recently, Thanaselan spearheaded a national AI literacy initiative with Microsoft, introducing responsible technology use to 306,000 Malaysians. Raised in a low-income household, he is motivated by the view that systemic exclusion can be rectified through intentional design. As a connector, he bridges national policy frameworks with the lived realities of multiethnic communities and offers the capacity to navigate sensitive ideological environments while demonstrating deep openness to learning regional systems-building and frameworks