DBS Foundation awards 1.3 million in grants 9 Social Enterprises across Asia as part of its 2019 Social Enterprise Grant Programme

DBS Foundation announces that it has awarded SGD 1.3 million to nine social enterprises (SEs) as part of its 2019 DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme. The grant funding will support this year’s 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.

This year, the DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme received a record 600 applications from SEs across Asia. The final nine SEs were selected based on rigorous criteria including the ability to address social needs, innovation, as well as the sustainability and scalability of their business models. They were also required to demonstrate a path to achieving key business and social impact milestones.

The 2019 social enterprises grant awardees are the following:

1. Agape Connecting People (Singapore) – A contact centre that empowers inmates serving time in prison, the physically challenged, single mothers and ex-offenders through employment.
2. NamZ (Singapore) – Tasty nutrient-rich food that incorporates Future Fit crops, which remediates land degradation due to monoculture and reduces overreliance on commodity crops, particularly palm plantations in SEA.
3. reach52 (Singapore) – Leveraging techs such as offline-first apps to connect underserved, rural communities to essential healthcare support and discounted medicines.
4. Boaz International Education Institute (Hong Kong) – Helps children with special education needs to identify their strengths to become independent learners through a certified programme for trainers.
5. Cha Tzu Tang (Taiwan) – Reviving Taiwan’s camellia oil culture through high-quality products and ushering in rural development by supporting farmers.
6. UWin Nanotech (Taiwan) – Green chemistry-based technology in hydrometallurgy which makes handling of e-waste, non-toxic and effective.
7. MotionECO (China) – Converting recycled cooking oil into environmentally friendly biofuels, increasing food safety and reducing environmental pollution.
8. S4S Technologies (India) – A food preservation company that empowers women farmers with farm-level technology and an assured market.
9. Tanijoy (Indonesia) – An agricultural investment platform that empowers farmers through tech assistance and market linkages.

The DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant is now open to social enterprises across Asia that have a business product or solution that has been validated by the market, with demonstrated commitment to a social mission, and a clear roadmap towards scaling social impact.

Applications received before 31 March 2020, 23:59hrs (Singapore time, GMT +8) will be evaluated and awarded in the first half of 2020. Application forms received on 1 April 2020 and thereafter will be evaluated and awarded in the second half of 2020. To find out more about the grant programme, visit here.