A Guide To Social Enterprises In Singapore (6sep09)

Introduction This guide is an attempt to give an overview to the burgeoning social enterprise scene in Singapore. It is a collaboration by the members of Social Enterprise SG, a networking platform for individuals and organisations involved in social enterprises in Singapore.

Distribution This guide will only be available in digital format, to allow for multiple updates. It will be distributed via the network at groups.yahoo.com/group/SocialEnterpriseSG/

A note about copyright This guide is copyrighted under Creative Commons’ Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), which allows for the document to be shared and remixed, as along as there is attribution, and that any derivatives be distributed under similar licenses.

Contribution To contribute to the development of this guide, please contact Jared at [email protected]

On the question of definition

2) Business with a social mission? Social enterprises are businesses which are set up to address social issues. Social enterprises are by this definition distinctive from their

Trying to define a social enterprise is almost as tricky as running one of

commercial cousins in that their purpose is central to what they do. It’s in

them. There doesn’t yet exist a global institution which can authoratively put

their DNA, you could say. If their profits go up, their mission should benefit

out a definition of just what a social enterprise. And perhaps, it’s better that

as well.

way. There are two caveats that one should consider, however. Firstly, the But that doesn’t mean that we can’t try. So here are some questions which

beneficiaries of the mission should be a public one. That is, the benefits

we can use to get a handle on this topic.

should accrue to society as a whole (the greater good), rather than to private or individual interests.

1) Corporate Social Responsibility? A handful of commercial businesses would consider themselves to have

Secondly, a social enterprise doesn’t really have to be registered as a

“social objectives”, which is probably just really good CSR. It’s not about

business to begin. In the UK, which has the Community Interest

how much money you give away (ask Bill Gates).

Companies tax status (designed for social enterprises), most of its 35,000 social enterprises are in fact still registered as charities, because of the

It’s incredibly difficult for a company to go from a profit orientation to a

benefits that such organisations enjoy.

social enterprise. Especially if you’re a listed company. The Body Shop and Ben & Jerry’s are often cited as examples of companies which had a

Likewise, in Singapore, many social enterprises have originated from social

social enterprise orientation when they started out, but experienced

service agencies, which seek to diversify their funding sources and make

‘mission drift’, after being sold to L’Oreal and Cadbury respectively.

their services more sustainable.

Google Inc. is probably one of the rare examples – when Google went

Therefore, the concept of “business” is wide enough to refer to products or

public, one of the conditions of their Initial Public Offer was that 1% of all

services which are provided to generate income for a social cause, but may

shareholder equity as well as employess time would go towards

not be registered as businesses.

Google.org, which is trying to make renewable energy cheaper than coal, among other things. But even Google is debatable. But don’t take our word for it – try Googling for the answers.

3) Is the environment included?

5) Is it the same as Social Entrepreneurship?

Another area of considerable debate. Should organic shops be classified as

Social entrepreneurship as a term was conceptualised in the 1970s by Bill

social enterprises, especially since some market themselves as retailers of

Drayton, founder of Ashoka, which is an association of more than 2000

health products (a private benefit) rather than being environmentally friendly

systems-changing social entrepreneurs from around the world.

(a public benefit)? What about green businesses and the clean tech industry?

In Singapore, this term has become slightly conflated with social enterprise, as the occupational name for people who run social enterprises. There is

In general, most social enterprises agree that environment should be

indeed some overlap, since social entrepreneurs may run social enterprises

included in the definition. But this risks diluting the category of social

to fulfil their mission, but they are just as likely to come from government

enterprise, as opposed to organic businesses, which is relatively more

(as Drayton did) or NGOs. Or they could come from within large

established.

corporations (social intrapreneurs).

4) Does it have to be profitable?

An oft-used quote by Drayton differentiates the work of Ashoka Fellows:

There is some debate in this area. Some contend that social enterprises have to be for-profit businesses, and need to generate profits in order to be sustainable. Significant profits would therefore allow a social enterprise to either scale up its operations or even develop new business streams.

“Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish, or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.” But even Drayton’s viewpoint is highly contested, as the field of social entrepreneurship is a constantly developing one. Here are some other definitions:

The extension of this viewpoint is that if a social enterprise under-performs and loses money, it is in fact detrimental to the cause that it supports. From a financial viewpoint, it is better off being positioned as a grant-seeking

Skoll Foundation: society's change agent, a pioneer of innovation that benefits humanity.

charity rather than a social enterprise. Social Enterprise Committee (set up by MCYS): Social entrepreneurship The middle ground is that some organisations have begun calling themselves “non-profit social enterprises”, which might seem contradictory, but really means that profits (minus operating expenses and salaries) are diverted back to the mission. Of course, if the social enterprise is already part of a well-governed charity, this is a moot point.

involves (i) a social mission, usually to help marginalised sectors of society; (ii) the use of enterprises, enterprise systems or enterprise development projects or programmes to achieve the social mission; and (iii) an element of “pattern-breaking change”, e.g. innovation, creativity, and the use of enterprises, to achieve the social mission.

Social enterprise intermediaries a) Policy

Website

Address

Contact person

www.mcys.gov.sg/

501

web/serv_E_CEF.h

Road,

tml

SLF Building

Thomson #10-02

Seah

Yang

Assistant

Hee,

Director,

Senior ComCare

and Social Support Division, [email protected]

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports defines social enterprises as “businesses which fulfill social causes. They use

www.mcys.gov.sg/

business principles and methods to achieve social change. Social

MCDSFiles/downlo

enterprises are not charities, but are revenue-generating businesses.”

ad/1a%20CEF%20

Philip Yeo, Chairman

Hyperlink.pdf A significant number of social enterprises in Singapore have received grants and subsidies from the MCYS-administered ComCare Enterprise Fund. However, one of the criteria for this fund is that the social enterprise should have a work integration aspect.

b) Banking services DBS Enterprise Banking supports Social Entrepreneurship with its Social Enterprise Special Package, which consists of various banking privileges that have been customised to help SEs meet the banking needs of their

MCYS’ reasoning for this is that its work is “focused on helping the needy and disadvantaged achieve self-reliance through work”, and that “needy disadvantaged individuals should be given the opportunity and the dignity to earn their own income and improve their situations, instead of depending solely on social and financial assistance”.

businesses. Website

Address

Contact person

www.dbs.com/sg/ent

Monica Marthen at ext

erprise/credit/sociale

6878 5933

nt/Pages/default.aspx

Leah Tan at ext 6878 6451

MCYS supports the formation of a social enterprise association, which is a key recommendation of the Social Enterprise Committee. Details on this association are in progress.

Bella Thong at ext 6878 9514

c) Grant funding

d) Incubators & Market Access

Besides MCYS, social enterprises also access capital from traditional

Association for Muslim Professionals runs the Micro Business

business start-up grants, such as those provided by SPRING Singapore.

Programme, which assists individuals from low income families to develop

Central Singapore Community Development Council also runs the

their entrepreneurial spirit by providing them with trade skills and

Mayor's Imagine Fund, which supports social enterprises in the district.

entrepreneurial skills, while Singapore Anglican Community Services runs the Simei Care Centre, which houses several social enterprises

Contact person

created by its members.

Website

Address

www.spring.gov.sg/

2 Bukit Merah

Content/WebPagel

Central, S’pore

Social Innovation Park runs the Pop and Talent Hub Market, a retail

eft.aspx?id=b859b2

159835

space for up and coming artists and social enterprises, every first and last weekend of every month at Vivocity.

c6-093a-4e75-9f0e1c5bf2792a9c www.centrals

HDB Hub

Evelyn Han,

The H.E.A.R.T. Market is a socially-conscious bazaar/ flea market held on

ingaporecdc.

Bizthree, 490

[email protected]

the second weekend of every month, which serve as a publicity and

org.sg/118515679

Lorong 6 Toa

0501.html

Payoh, #04-10

fundraising platform for charities and welfare societies

Website

Address

Contact person

www.amp.org.sg/amp

1 Pasir Ris Drive 4 #05-

[email protected],

07/web/view/?id=ART

11

6416 3974

www.sacsscc.org.sg/

Simei Care Centre, 10

Seah Soon Huat,

html/social_enterpris

Simei Street 3

soonhuatseah@sacss

00045-2007&pgno=2

es/sosn.html

cc.org.sg

www.socialinnovation

Vivocity, 3rd floor

info_path@socialinno

park.org/hubs/pohub.

outside Food Republic

vationpark.org

www.calaminesolutio

Sculpture Square, 155

calamine.solutions@g

ns.com/the_h_e_a_r_

Middle Road

mail.com

html

t_market.html

e) Education and Research ITE College East has a Business & Services department which teaches

Website

Address

Contact person

about social enterprise. Ngee Ann Polytechnic also offers a Diploma in

www.ite.edu.sg

10 Simei Ave, S’pore

Dion Lee,

486047

[email protected]

Business and Social Enterprise, which paves the way for a career as a business and social enterprise manager.

www.np.edu.sg/h

School of Humanities, Blk

ms/courses/bzse

52, #04-01, 535 Clementi Road

In the National University of Singapore, the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy and Institute of Policy Studies do

bschool.nus.edu.

NUS Business School, 1

Eddy Chong,

research and public education on social entreprises.

sg/ResearchPubli

Business Link, BIZ 2 04-05

[email protected]

29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace,

Gillian Koh,

#06-06

[email protected]

cations/Research At Singapore Management University, the Lee Kong Chian School of

Centers/Centrefo

Business offers a module in Social Entrepreneurship, which is open only

rSocialEntrepren

for SMU undergraduates. The Lien Centre for Social Innovation was also

eurshipPhilanthro

commissioned by MCYS to do a Study on the State of Social Enterprise in

py/AboutUs.aspx

Singapore.

www.ips.org.sg

g www.smu.edu.sg

Lee Kong Chian School of

Tan Wee Liang,

Business, SMU, 50 Stamford

[email protected]

Road, S’pore 178899 www.lcsi.smu.ed

SMU, Administration

Sharifah Maisharah,

u.sg

Building, 81 Victoria Street

[email protected] du.sg

f) Competitions & Conferences

g) Consultancies & Venture Capital

Mayor's Imagine Social Enterpreneurship Challenge (MISE Challenge)

The Social Innovation Programme within the Centre on Asia and

was designed to help acquaint youth with the local social entrepreneurship

Globalisation is setting up the Social Stock Exchange Asia. Serenity

scene and to challenge them to come up with a feasible business plan to

LLP provides consulting and incubating services for social enterprises and

help VWOs to set up sustainable social enterprises to aid their causes.

supports human empowerment projects, while Volans Ventures works with established social entrepreneurs to create highly leveraged partnerships

Social Entrepreneurship Forum is a NUS student-organised forum that

with the corporate sector. Waterson Globe invests in social enterprises

aims to create an enabling environment for social entrepreneurship in

regionally.

Singapore, and educate the local market about the value of social entrepreneurship.

Website

Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE)

Address

Social Stock

Robert A. Kraybill,

Exchange Asia

[email protected]

aims to advance youth business and social entrepreneurship in an ethical and socially-responsible manner. SAGESG competition is organised by

m www.serenityllp.com

30 Mugliston Road

www.volans.com/en/

5 Tanjong Rhu Road

SMU Initiatives for Social Enterprise (SMU-ISE), and six junior college teams have joined SAGESG as founding members.

portal Website www.mise.com.sg

Address

Contact person

www.watersonglobe.

Maisy,

com

[email protected] m http://seforum.sg/

Zi Yong, [email protected]

www.smu.edu.sg/ne

Jamie Ko,

ws_room/press_relea

jamie.ko.2007@busin

ses/2008/20080129.a

ess.smu.edu.sg

sp

Contact person

20 Maxwell Road, #0917, Maxwell House, Singapore 069113

Patsian Low, [email protected] om Kevin Teo, [email protected] Kelvin Low, admin@watersonglob e.com

Social enterprise models

4) Social needs model These social enterprises are designed to serve society’s social needs or address certain social issues. These issues can include community

There are generally 4 types of social enterprises, although most social enterprises typically employ a combination of these models:

1) Work integration model The Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) provide skills training and/or employment opportunities to the needy disadvantaged (i.e. those who have higher than usual barriers to employment, such as ex-offenders) as a means to reintegrate them into society and encourage them to be selfreliant. They give an opportunity to people who may not find employment in the open market.

2) Plough-back-profit model The objective of these social enterprises is to generate profit to fund the social programmes of their affiliated or parent charities. This helps VWOs or charities reduce their reliance on donations and enhance their financial sustainability.

3) Subsidised services model These social enterprises provide subsidised services to needy and/or disadvantaged clients, and charge commercial rates to mainstream customers. This ensures that the people who could not usually afford certain services have access to such services to improve their quality of life.

bonding, family bonding and racial harmony.

Roles of social enterprises

6) Cooperative o

Direct benefit to clients

Here are 9 roles that social enterprises can play. Adapted from the social

o

Market information

enterprise typology provided by Virture Ventures at

o

Technical assistance

www.virtueventures.com/resources/setypology

o

Collective bargaining power

o

Economies of bulk purchase

o

Access to products & services

o

Access to external markets

1) Entrepreneur Support o

Business support

o

Financial services

7) Market Linkage 2) Market Intermediary o

o

Facilitate trade relationships

To help clients access markets

8) Services Subsidisation 3) Employment

o

Income from external market to fund internal social programmes

o

Employment opportunities

o

Job training

9) Organisational Support

o

For people with high barriers to gainful employment

o

4) Fee-For-Service o

Commercialises its social service

5) Low-Income Client o

Variation on fee-for-service

o

Recognises clients as a market

Selling products & services to external market