The “Social Enterprise Champion of the Year” is a new award introduced this year. It recognises corporations and individuals who have made significant contributions to SEs in Singapore, with DBS being conferred the award in the corporation category.
Armed with a belief that businesses play a central role in contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive society, DBS established DBS Foundation in 2014 with a sum of SGD 50 million. To date, DBS Foundation has reached out to more than 54,000 budding social entrepreneurs and nurtured over 300 SEs across Asia.
Said Karen Ngui, Board Member of DBS Foundation and DBS’ Head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications: “At DBS, we believe that social enterprises are innovative, purpose-driven businesses that can help to address pressing social and environmental issues, and we are honoured to receive the inaugural President’s Challenge ‘Social Enterprise Champion of the Year’ award for corporations. DBS Foundation was formed five years ago to help social enterprises to scale their businesses, and correspondingly, their ability to deliver social impact. In addition to providing grants, we also provide mentorship, networking opportunities and capacity building programmes. Going forward, we hope that we can work together with even more young social entrepreneurs and their ecosystem partners to help create a better, more sustainable world.”
To further its support of innovative social enterprises, DBS Foundation introduced the inaugural DBS Foundation Social Impact Prize in conjunction with the Singapore Management University (SMU) Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition earlier this year. The Prize, which includes SGD150,000 worth of funding and support, aims to identify sustainable, scalable and enterprising business solutions that help address crucial social problems and make cities of the future more inclusive, healthier and greener. Over 850 submissions have been received, with representation from 650 universities spanning more than 60 countries worldwide.
DBS Foundation also recently announced in November 2019 that it was awarding SGD 1.3 million in grants to nine SEs, as part of its 2019 DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme. The grant funding will support the awardees from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Taiwan to deploy social innovations in areas such as healthcare, nutrition, employability and income generation, education, energy, environment protection and waste management. Since its inception, DBS Foundation has provided over SGD 5 million in grant funding.
Claire Wong, Head of DBS Foundation, said: “DBS has been a committed proponent of social enterprises for over a decade, starting with the first of its kind DBS Social Enterprise Package that offers free transaction banking services and loans at discounted rates to social enterprises. We will continue our efforts to nurture and grow SEs, and to integrate SEs into the culture and operations of DBS. By leveraging the bank’s resources, expertise and network, we are in a unique position to provide much needed holistic support to social enterprises in Singapore and across the region.”
(L to R) Sam Tan Chin Song, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Social and Family Development; Euleen Goh, Chairperson of DBS Foundation; President Halimah Yacob; Karen Ngui, Board Member of DBS Foundation and DBS’ Head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications; and Tan Soo Nan, Chairman, PCSEA2019 Committee, at the President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Awards (PCSEA) 2019. DBS has been named the inaugural winner of the "Social Enterprise Champion of the Year (Corporation)" award.
