orn the youngest in a family of 11 children in 1939, Koh Seow Chuan’s formative years were shaped by Singapore’s tumultuous history, from the Second World War to the end of colonial rule, and the country’s merger with Malaysia and eventual independence in 1965. As a child, Koh learnt to embrace the values of trust and frugality, as Singapore was gradually rebuilding from the devastation of the Japanese Occupation. It was during this period of survival that he witnessed how the lack of resources was not an obstacle but instead a driving force for people to innovate. Koh recounts how people in need of money scraped gold‑painted items in their homes to create jewellery for sale, something he observed through his father,
