DBS Awards Nine Social Enterprises

Nine do-gooder firms in Asia are taking home nearly $1 million (S$1.3 million) under this year’s DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme.

Three of this year’s winners hailed from Singapore: NamZ, a food science startup; reach52, which uses apps to collect health data from under-served rural communities and hook them up with care providers; and Agape Connecting People, which finds work for people with disabilities, single mothers, prisoners and other disadvantaged job seekers.

From empowering the disadvantaged and marginalized, to creating nutritious food that benefits both the environment and smallholder farmers, we are delighted to support these inspiring social entrepreneurs as they strive to build a better future for all, said Karen Ngui, head of group strategic marketing and communication at DBS in a media statement.

The DBS Foundation scheme, which was launched in 2015, is open to social enterprises from Singapore, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.

Each recipient gets up to S$250,000 to scale up its business operations. The funds can go towards market expansion, a production ramp-up, or other ways to grow the company’s impact on society.