Entrepreneurship For Good 2021

In the past year, entrepreneurs have endured a time of uncertainty and challenges to keep their businesses afloat or drive their firms forward. And in those times, social causes and their undertakings have risen in prominence to solve issues heightened by the ongoing pandemic and improve society as a whole.

Entrepreneurship for Good uncovered the work of social enterprises as they meet concerns like healthcare availability, ageing population, climate change and more. Held on the 15th to 18th of March, the programme is a collaboration between the Student Affairs Office, Career & Attachment Office and Nanyang Technopreneurship Center.

During the programme, four events were held. This includes a Sociopreneur Campaign segment by CAO, a Multimodal Art Therapy Workshop by Acting Up Singapore, a Fireside Chat Webinar by Entrepreneurship Society and Social Impact Catalyst and a Kopi Talk by SAO.

The Sociopreneur Campaign segment invited participants to create business solutions to address social, cultural or environmental issues with an entrepreneurial approach. They received professional help and tackled problems like food waste.

On the other hand, The Multimodal Art Therapy Workshop invited participants to create pieces of work through art and how to process emotions in a more healthy and beneficial way. They were taught ways to acknowledge, understand and develop their understanding of emotions while also learning to organise workshops for social beneficiaries. During the activity, Founder Marissa Teo also shared her experiences of growing the social enterprise and changing her enterprise into a non-profit organisation. Previously, she worked as a Child Protection Officer and has worked with emotionally vulnerable youths in local institutions.

Aiming to give participants an outlook into the path of an entrepreneur - the challenges and uncertainties - the Fireside Chat Webinar invited social entrepreneurs to share their experiences of gaining audiences, developing products, building teams and more. The webinar featured 4 speakers: Joan Low, founder and CEO of Thoughtfull, Benice Tan, Director of Kind Citizen, Edward Yee, co-founder of Givfunds and Sazzad Hossain, CEO of SDI Academy and the session was moderated by Russ Neu, founder and CEO of Social Collider.

Lastly, Kopi Talk was held at Bettr Coffee Co as participants enjoyed teatime treats while hearing from its founder, Pamela Chng, on how the cafe was started and her plans for the business. The talk was held in response to the rise of cafes opening up in Singapore. 

Social enterprises work tirelessly to make a positive difference for the community and world around them while striving to meet the needs of their stakeholders and ensure the sustainability of their organisations. Let's root for this brilliant circle of trailblazers and changemakers!