As cliche as it may seem, it was love at first sight for celebrity couple Rozza Ramli and Jai Wahab. In 2003, Rozza, a former actress and flight attendant, met Jai, a singer and songwriter, at a charity event organised by local television channel, Suria.
Prior to embarking on his entrepreneurship journey with Rozza, Jai had established a career in marketing and operations, including stints with IBM and children’s amusement park KidZania Singapore. Muslim women who wear the hijab are unable to remove their headscarves in public. “When I came back to Singapore, I started wearing the hijab. I got frustrated as there were very little places to go to in Singapore. So I thought, why not open a salon that can benefit me and others?”
The Karva brand has also expanded with a new concept – Karva Salon for Family. Located at Century Square mall in Tampines, this unisex outlet is targeted at busy families who wish to get hair services together. “As we continue filling in the gaps with the Muslim community, we don't want to limit our brand to women. We have a growing number of non-Muslim clients as well, and we have embraced that by opening a family salon,” Rozza explained.
While Karva continues to grow, Jai also believes that the company should give back. As part of Karva’s corporate social responsibility efforts, the company partnered with Pertapis Centre for Women & Girls – a welfare home for “It’s important that people see there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes. There’s also a lot of responsibility that we carry as public figures who run a business,” Jai added. “We feel the pressure to deliver. Sometimes, it’s nice to have a brand without people knowing who’s behind them. But at the same time, Rozza and I have taken up the challenge. With every negative review, we are determined to them into a success story.