a guide to social enterprises in singapore (6sep09)
DESCRIPTION
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.TRANSCRIPT
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
On the question of definition
Trying to define a social enterprise is almost as tricky as running one of
them. There doesn’t yet exist a global institution which can authoratively put
out a definition of just what a social enterprise. And perhaps, it’s better that
way.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t try. So here are some questions which
we can use to get a handle on this topic.
1) Corporate Social Responsibility?
A handful of commercial businesses would consider themselves to have
“social objectives”, which is probably just really good CSR. It’s not about
how much money you give away (ask Bill Gates).
It’s incredibly difficult for a company to go from a profit orientation to a
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
social enterprise orientation when they started out, but experienced
‘mission drift’, after being sold to L’Oreal and Cadbury respectively.
Google Inc. is probably one of the rare examples – when Google went
public, one of the conditions of their Initial Public Offer was that 1% of all
shareholder equity as well as employess time would go towards
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.
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
commercial cousins in that their purpose is central to what they do. It’s in
their DNA, you could say. If their profits go up, their mission should benefit
as well.
There are two caveats that one should consider, however. Firstly, the
beneficiaries of the mission should be a public one. That is, the benefits
should accrue to society as a whole (the greater good), rather than to
private or individual interests.
Secondly, a social enterprise doesn’t really have to be registered as a
business to begin. In the UK, which has the Community Interest
Companies tax status (designed for social enterprises), most of its 35,000
social enterprises are in fact still registered as charities, because of the
benefits that such organisations enjoy.
Likewise, in Singapore, many social enterprises have originated from social
service agencies, which seek to diversify their funding sources and make
their services more sustainable.
Therefore, the concept of “business” is wide enough to refer to products or
services which are provided to generate income for a social cause, but may
not be registered as businesses.
3) Is the environment included?
Another area of considerable debate. Should organic shops be classified as
social enterprises, especially since some market themselves as retailers of
health products (a private benefit) rather than being environmentally friendly
(a public benefit)? What about green businesses and the clean tech
industry?
In general, most social enterprises agree that environment should be
included in the definition. But this risks diluting the category of social
enterprise, as opposed to organic businesses, which is relatively more
established.
4) Does it have to be profitable?
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.
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
charity rather than a social enterprise.
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.
5) Is it the same as Social Entrepreneurship?
Social entrepreneurship as a term was conceptualised in the 1970s by Bill
Drayton, founder of Ashoka, which is an association of more than 2000
systems-changing social entrepreneurs from around the world.
In Singapore, this term has become slightly conflated with social enterprise,
as the occupational name for people who run social enterprises. There is
indeed some overlap, since social entrepreneurs may run social enterprises
to fulfil their mission, but they are just as likely to come from government
(as Drayton did) or NGOs. Or they could come from within large
corporations (social intrapreneurs).
An oft-used quote by Drayton differentiates the work of Ashoka Fellows:
“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:
Skoll Foundation: society's change agent, a pioneer of innovation that
benefits humanity.
Social Enterprise Committee (set up by MCYS): Social entrepreneurship
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
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports defines
social enterprises as “businesses which fulfill social causes. They use
business principles and methods to achieve social change. Social
enterprises are not charities, but are revenue-generating businesses.”
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.
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”.
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.
Website Address Contact person
www.mcys.gov.sg/
web/serv_E_CEF.h
tml
501 Thomson
Road, #10-02
SLF Building
Seah Yang Hee, Senior
Assistant Director, ComCare
and Social Support Division,
www.mcys.gov.sg/
MCDSFiles/downlo
ad/1a%20CEF%20
Hyperlink.pdf
Philip Yeo, Chairman
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
businesses.
Website Address Contact person
www.dbs.com/sg/ent
erprise/credit/sociale
nt/Pages/default.aspx
Monica Marthen at ext
6878 5933
Leah Tan at ext 6878
6451
Bella Thong at ext
6878 9514
c) Grant funding
Besides MCYS, social enterprises also access capital from traditional
business start-up grants, such as those provided by SPRING Singapore.
Central Singapore Community Development Council also runs the
Mayor's Imagine Fund, which supports social enterprises in the district.
Website Address Contact person
www.spring.gov.sg/
Content/WebPagel
eft.aspx?id=b859b2
c6-093a-4e75-9f0e-
1c5bf2792a9c
2 Bukit Merah
Central, S’pore
159835
www.centrals
ingaporecdc.
org.sg/118515679
0501.html
HDB Hub
Bizthree, 490
Lorong 6 Toa
Payoh, #04-10
Evelyn Han,
d) Incubators & Market Access
Association for Muslim Professionals runs the Micro Business
Programme, which assists individuals from low income families to develop
their entrepreneurial spirit by providing them with trade skills and
entrepreneurial skills, while Singapore Anglican Community Services
runs the Simei Care Centre, which houses several social enterprises
created by its members.
Social Innovation Park runs the Pop and Talent Hub Market, a retail
space for up and coming artists and social enterprises, every first and last
weekend of every month at Vivocity.
The H.E.A.R.T. Market is a socially-conscious bazaar/ flea market held on
the second weekend of every month, which serve as a publicity and
fundraising platform for charities and welfare societies
Website Address Contact person
www.amp.org.sg/amp
07/web/view/?id=ART
00045-2007&pgno=2
1 Pasir Ris Drive 4 #05-
11
6416 3974
www.sacsscc.org.sg/
html/social_enterpris
es/sosn.html
Simei Care Centre, 10
Simei Street 3
Seah Soon Huat,
soonhuatseah@sacss
cc.org.sg
www.socialinnovation
park.org/hubs/pohub.
html
Vivocity, 3rd floor
outside Food Republic
info_path@socialinno
vationpark.org
www.calaminesolutio
ns.com/the_h_e_a_r_
t_market.html
Sculpture Square, 155
Middle Road
calamine.solutions@g
mail.com
e) Education and Research
ITE College East has a Business & Services department which teaches
about social enterprise. Ngee Ann Polytechnic also offers a Diploma in
Business and Social Enterprise, which paves the way for a career as a
business and social enterprise manager.
In the National University of Singapore, the Centre for Social
Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy and Institute of Policy Studies do
research and public education on social entreprises.
At Singapore Management University, the Lee Kong Chian School of
Business offers a module in Social Entrepreneurship, which is open only
for SMU undergraduates. The Lien Centre for Social Innovation was also
commissioned by MCYS to do a Study on the State of Social Enterprise in
Singapore.
Website Address Contact person
www.ite.edu.sg 10 Simei Ave, S’pore
486047
Dion Lee,
www.np.edu.sg/h
ms/courses/bzse
School of Humanities, Blk
52, #04-01, 535 Clementi
Road
bschool.nus.edu.
sg/ResearchPubli
cations/Research
Centers/Centrefo
rSocialEntrepren
eurshipPhilanthro
py/AboutUs.aspx
NUS Business School, 1
Business Link, BIZ 2 04-05
Eddy Chong,
www.ips.org.sg 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace,
#06-06
Gillian Koh,
g
www.smu.edu.sg Lee Kong Chian School of
Business, SMU, 50 Stamford
Road, S’pore 178899
Tan Wee Liang,
www.lcsi.smu.ed
u.sg
SMU, Administration
Building, 81 Victoria Street
Sharifah Maisharah,
du.sg
f) Competitions & Conferences
Mayor's Imagine Social Enterpreneurship Challenge (MISE Challenge)
was designed to help acquaint youth with the local social entrepreneurship
scene and to challenge them to come up with a feasible business plan to
help VWOs to set up sustainable social enterprises to aid their causes.
Social Entrepreneurship Forum is a NUS student-organised forum that
aims to create an enabling environment for social entrepreneurship in
Singapore, and educate the local market about the value of social
entrepreneurship.
Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE)
aims to advance youth business and social entrepreneurship in an ethical
and socially-responsible manner. SAGESG competition is organised by
SMU Initiatives for Social Enterprise (SMU-ISE), and six junior college
teams have joined SAGESG as founding members.
Website Address Contact person
www.mise.com.sg Maisy,
m
http://seforum.sg/ Zi Yong,
www.smu.edu.sg/ne
ws_room/press_relea
ses/2008/20080129.a
sp
Jamie Ko,
jamie.ko.2007@busin
ess.smu.edu.sg
g) Consultancies & Venture Capital
The Social Innovation Programme within the Centre on Asia and
Globalisation is setting up the Social Stock Exchange Asia. Serenity
LLP provides consulting and incubating services for social enterprises and
supports human empowerment projects, while Volans Ventures works with
established social entrepreneurs to create highly leveraged partnerships
with the corporate sector. Waterson Globe invests in social enterprises
regionally.
Website Address Contact person
Social Stock
Exchange Asia
Robert A. Kraybill,
m
www.serenityllp.com 30 Mugliston Road Patsian Low, [email protected]
www.volans.com/en/
portal
5 Tanjong Rhu Road Kevin Teo, [email protected]
www.watersonglobe.
com
20 Maxwell Road, #09-17, Maxwell House, Singapore 069113
Kelvin Low, [email protected]
Social enterprise models
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 self-
reliant. 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.
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
bonding, family bonding and racial harmony.
Roles of social enterprises
Here are 9 roles that social enterprises can play. Adapted from the social
enterprise typology provided by Virture Ventures at
www.virtueventures.com/resources/setypology
1) Entrepreneur Support
o Business support
o Financial services
2) Market Intermediary
o To help clients access markets
3) Employment
o Employment opportunities
o Job training
o For people with high barriers to gainful employment
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
6) Cooperative
o Direct benefit to clients
o Market information
o Technical assistance
o Collective bargaining power
o Economies of bulk purchase
o Access to products & services
o Access to external markets
7) Market Linkage
o Facilitate trade relationships
8) Services Subsidisation
o Income from external market to fund internal social programmes
9) Organisational Support
o Selling products & services to external market