Mr Phillip Yeo

Patron for the Social Enterprise Association and Chairman of SPRING Singapore

 

Mr Gerard Ee

Chairman of the Social Enterprise Implementation Committee

 

His Excellency Douglas Owen Chester

High Commissioner for Australia

 

Ladies and gentlemen

 

 

2        This association will build a platform to bring together social entrepreneurs, social enterprises, academic institutions and businesses.  I would like to see the Social Enterprise Association act as a catalyst to strengthen the culture of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises and create innovative solutions for some of our most challenging social and environmental issues.

 

3        Social enterprises are revenue-generating businesses. They are not charities and should not be dependent on charitable donations. We also expect social enterprises to compete fairly with other businesses in the marketplace.  Hence, a passion for social causes alone is not enough. The key ingredients of any successful business – financial discipline and commercial creativity – are critical to establishing good social enterprises.  However, unlike normal businesses, successful social enterprises ultimately pursue a social cause instead of merely returns to shareholders.

 

4        According to a study carried out by the Lien Centre for Social Innovation in 2007, it was estimated that there are about 150 social enterprises in Singapore. Taking alsointo account the 73 established co-operatives, we can see a diverse range of social enterprises with different business models and varied social causes, operating across numerous industries in Singapore.

 

5         I am pleased to note that the number of social enterprises in Singapore is growing.  Through the ComCare Enterprise Fund, my Ministry funds a number of social enterprises that provide employment or training to help needy or disadvantaged Singaporeans become more self-reliant. Since 2003, we have committed about $5.5m in funding to 73 social enterprises, 47 of which are still active to date. Other avenues of Government funding are available for social enterprises focused on other causes. These include various funds offered by SPRING and EnterpriseOne, the Open Door Fund by the Singapore National Employers Federation, as well as the Mayors Imagine Fund by Central Singapore CDC. With all these funds in place, I am confident that the number of social enterprises in Singapore will continue to grow.

 

6         Besides those that receive some start-up funding support from the Government, I am especially heartened to see social enterprises being established through the dedicated efforts of social entrepreneurs.  Take Bloomerang, for example, a social enterprise set up in 2008 by two young Singaporeans who developed an idea to create clothes hangers using recycled paper in place of plastic hangers used by hotels and laundry companies. Motivated by their passion for the environment, both the founders, Mr Thian Zhiwen and Mr Wong Joo Ian, applied business creativity to their idea and managed to cross-subsidise the cost of the paper hangers by printing advertisements on them. Bloomerang has since become a case study used in several marketing books in Asian universities. It was also a finalist in this year’s President’s Design Award in the “Design of the Year” category.

 

7        With the establishment of the Social Enterprise Association, social enterprises in Singapore will be able to scale greater heights. On this note, I would like to encourage all social enterprises to step forward and lend your support to the Association. Your involvement will be valuable in building a stronger identity for social enterprises in Singapore, sharing and creating best practices for the sector, and providing inspiration for other Singaporeans to step forward as social entrepreneurs.

 

8         For social enterprises out there, the Social Enterprise Association is here to help you. Apart from consultancy and training services, they will also establish strategic partnerships with various key stakeholders and partners, such as the business community, the finance community, to build the capacity and capability of its members. In addition, it will serve as a hub for peer-learning and synergistic connections through networking and flagship events for its members.

 

9        The work of social enterprises is not easy. In pursuing their social bottom line, social enterprises sometimes encounter a drag on their cost structures. For example, social enterprises that hire from alternative workforces such as recovering psychiatric patients, or ex-offenders, tend to invest far more resources in job-training, redesigning work processes and maintaining staff morale as compared to regular enterprises.

 

10      While we cannot ignore these challenges, they can be overcome. We are inspired by the sheer passion and determination displayed amongst Singapore’s pioneering social entrepreneurs such as Mr Alfie Othman of Ikhlas Holdings and Mr Kenny Low of O School. The fact that their social enterprises are still going strong today is testament to this. Our pioneering social entrepreneurs have been able to develop creative business models around difficult social problems and generate sufficient or even surplus profits which they then use to re-invest and grow their respective social enterprises, thereby benefiting even more people.

 

11       To complete the ecosystem, social enterprises also need consumers to be socially aware and supportive. Rather than charitable support, consumers need to give these enterprises a fair chance and not discriminate against their services and products. I think many Singaporeans will be surprised to find that the quality and standards offered by most of these social enterprises are good, if not better!

 

12       Before I conclude, I would like to make special mention of the many people who have been instrumental in bringing about the birth of the Association. Mr Philip Yeo, who was at the helm of the Social Enterprise Committee set up by MCYS in 2006, first conceived the idea of the need for a Social Enterprise Association in Singapore. Mr Gerard Ee was subsequently tasked to head the Social Enterprise Implementation Committee to set up the Association and deliver on the Social Enterprise Committee’s recommendations.  I thank Mr Yeo and Mr Ee, and their respective committee members, for the hard work and effort put in over the last few years. 

 

13       The Social Enterprise Association will be embarking on an exciting journey ahead. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the Board – Mr Seah Kian Peng, Ms Penny Low, Dr Gillian Koh and Mr Alfie Othman on the successful launch today. I wish you every success in your future endeavours towards growing and supporting the social enterprise sector in Singapore.

 

14       Thank you.