Past Programmes & Events

FestivalForGood 2020

Organised by raiSE, in partnership with DBS Foundation, 130 social enterprises from Singapore and the region were brought together for a month of virtual festivities consisting of online workshops, a retail marketplace, insightful conversations, a live performance stage, and, for the first time ever, a B2B Experience segment to facilitate more partnership between corporates and social enterprises. More than 34,000 site visitors and over 5 million impressions on social were generated across October to November 2020.

Catch the recap of the Conversations hosted by DBS Foundation:

DBS Foundation Social Impact Prize (SIP) 2020

Organised by the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) at SMU, the 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (‘Reimagine Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities’) focused on various verticals on sustainable urban innovations.

The DBS Foundation SIP recognises business solutions that address pertinent urban social challenges and make cities of the future more inclusive, healthier and greener. Over 700 applications across 63 countries were submitted to this category. The overall winner, StratifiCare, and People’s Choice winner, Polybee, were awarded cash prizes up to SGD 100,000 and post-competition support to scale up their business and impact. Stratificare has developed the world’s first severe Dengue Prediction Test to alleviate the healthcare burden of dengue-endemic countries. Polybee uses autonomous drones for precision pollination in indoor farming to strengthen food resiliency in urban cities.

DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia (SVCA) 2014 – 2018

Jointly organised by DBS Foundation and NUS Enterprise, the DBS-NUS SVCA is an Asia-wide competition that identifies and supports innovative new ideas and existing social ventures with the potential to generate positive, scalable and sustainable social impact. A key objective of the Challenge is to raise awareness of social entrepreneurship and build a robust community of changemakers across Asia.

Over the five years, 27 winners were awarded SGD 780,000 in funding. With support from a strong network of over 50 partners, these social enterprises have accelerated their impact and touched more lives in communities across Asia. Download the 5-year impact report here.

DBS Foundation SE Summit 2016 - 2018

SE Summit 2018: Social impact + Profit: Can the boundaries be blurred? – Together with social enterprises supported by DBS Foundation, investors, SMEs, corporates, capacity-builders and experts convened in Singapore for three days to attend masterclasses, experience visits, plenaries and talks designed to bring in new thinking, as well as networking opportunities. Watch the playlist of events here.

SE Summit 2017: Innovate for Impact – More than 300 existing and potential social entrepreneurs from the region met in Jakarta to discuss strategies on keeping their ventures innovative and relevant in the age of disruption.

SE Summit 2016: Hard Truths and Honest Conversations - Over 200 participants comprising leading social entrepreneurs, incubators and capacity-builders from Asia gathered in Singapore to discuss the realities and challenges of running an SE, including the areas of funding, operations and management.