Social entrepreneurship finds its champions in Singapore

Channel NewsAsia 15 Mar 08;

SINGAPORE: There are various examples of social entrepreneurship being put into practice in Singapore.

It is a term not many are able to define, but social entrepreneurship is not the amorphous concept many consider it to be.

Put simply, anytime someone finds a business solution for what they see as a social problem, you have yourself a social entrepreneur.

For example, Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with Grameen Bank, helping the poor in Bangladesh to get small loans, while Microsoft founder Bill Gates has poured his billions into a foundation which champions development and health causes through a working business model.

Bernard Leong, Social Entrepreneurship Advocate, said: "Social entrepreneurship has worked on the level of volunteer organisations and charity foundations to promote a social cause or help the disabled. Social entrepreneurship, with regard to technology, hasn't happened. If you have a piece of technology, you can make human life more comfortable."

Singapore-based company Buy1Give1Free is one of the companies here that is making social enterprise a reality.

The firm acts as the middleman, brokering financial relationships between businesses and charities.

Masami Sato, Founder of Buy1Give1Free, said: "There's such a deep sense of caring in Singapore. We realise that a lot of Singaporeans really care and want to give as well."

MP of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Penny Low has also founded a group which teaches people all about the social entrepreneurship movement.

Acknowledging that there are challenges, she said: "A lot of the social entrepreneurship in Singapore is still very much dependent on the grant side. I would like to move it to the next level. At the end of the day, the market mechanism is the most innovative and the most efficient way of distribution, but it will take us time."

Opportunities for social entrepreneurship are just about everywhere

Last year, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew allowed disabled artists to use his image commercially on tiles which were then sold off.

The project was a flying success and if that is anything to go by, it bodes well for the future of social enterprise here.- CNA/so