Raising Social Enterprises in Singapore

I've come with a new article to talk about. I'm aware that this article should have come before the previous blogpost as the previous post talks about about this organization already giving out grants. However, I feel that this was an important milestone in the social enterprise sector. The acknowledgement and independence of this group. The Singapore centre for Social Enterprises also known as raiSE was launched as a place for Social Enterprises to seek funding when necessary and also gain access to mentoring. It has the backing of four organisations, namely Ministry of Social and Family Development, National Council of Social Service, Social Enterprise Association and Tote Board. With these support, it is surely more able to be able to help social enterprises in need or those starting out. To back my point, raiSE has received S$30 million from the MSF and Tote Board to help develop the sector in the next year 5 years.

I found the statement that Gautam Banarjee, Chairman of raiSE and nominated member of parliament to be very interesting. I have always considered social enterprises in a narrow perspective of establishing a business in order to tackle social problems. However, Mr Banerjee mentioned that it was an important part of the broader system to address social gaps and needs in our community. (Banarjee, 2015) Seeing this, I realised that social enterprises play a greater role in society than i thought they did. It is important to have smaller sectors such as social enterprises playing a part to create a more inclusive society by bringing people together through what they do. This makes it all the more meaningful and heartfelt. I have realised that i should not just look at the smaller picture but also take notice of the big picture and understand it's consequences and impacts surrounding it in order to fully understand it. I am even more proud to be in this course, where i have a greater role in society and I will be able to bring people together through what I do. 

As many social enterprises face challenges in being sustainable, this is a good platform to approach to help keep social enterprises afloat. The social enterprise sector is steadily growing till today, even though they may face challenges such as finding talent, business know how and funding as President Tony Tan has said. He also mentioned other thought provoking statements such as "We have made significant progress as a country. How advanced a society is should not be measured by just its GDP but by how it helps the less fortunate among us. Social enterprises take the proverbial approach of ‘teaching how to fish’ as opposed to ‘handing over the next" I think this is vital in our society as we should always care for others as well as ourselves. There is little point in developing yourself and leaving others behind. With that, it will only result in a personal improvement and not a total effort. 

In conclusion, I think that this is important and a relevant article that I really wanted to talk about as I think it relayed how Singaporeans are becoming more open-minded and open to such ideas. This is a great leap for singapore's social enterprises and I hope for more development and support to come for this sector. It is a really important part of society as it really integrates everyone together as one which is necessary for Singaporeans. We should always seek to help one another in whatever way we can. I hope that my children get to see a brighter and more vibrant Singapore, where everyone has an big heart and always a helping hand for one another. 

Chua, J. (2015) " Raising Social Enterprises in Singapore" Eco-business. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/raising-social-enterprises-in-singapore/ on 20 July 2015