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Six of the most promising social impact start-ups across Singapore, Australia and the Philippines emerged as the winners of social innovation program, Singtel Group Asia Pacific Future Makers 2017.
Now in its second year, the Future Makers program attracted over 250 applications from enterprising organizations as well as individuals which are making innovative use of technology to address community needs. Out of these, 19 teams were chosen for the local level and had the opportunity to work closely with experts from Singtel, Optus, Globe and the industry over a period of four months.
They received intensive capacity building, mentoring and local grants of S$500,000 to help them grow their organizational capabilities and also refine their business models. Six teams – Hapticus, iVolunteer, Learner Library, Sameview, Solve Education! and Virtualahan – were then selected for the regional finals.
Mr Andrew Buay, Vice President of Group Sustainability, Singtel, said, “We recognize that it can be challenging for social start-ups to thrive as sustainable businesses and deliver social impact at the same time. Through the Future Makers program, we hope to nurture a vibrant social innovation ecosystem in the region by providing mentorship, networking as well as access to impact funding.”
“We’re impressed by the calibre of the start-ups, and the diversity and quality of business ideas this year. The six winning teams, in particular, stood out for the viability and scalability of their solutions regionally and the progress they made over the past four months. We look forward to the positive changes they will spark as they accelerate their regionalization plans,” he added.
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Ms. Yoly Crisanto, Globe Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications and Chief Sustainability Officer, said, “We recognize the important role technology plays in addressing many social issues, so it’s heartening to see a lot of start-ups use innovation to become change makers. These are all very noteworthy endeavors and we admire the creativity of these groups and individuals in helping to create the change we envisioned in dealing with social ills.”
The six winners took part in a three-day program in Sydney, Australia hosted by Singtel. As part of the program, they attended the Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific, and a workshop conducted by Optus and World Vision Australia.
This gave them valuable insights on impact investing which is helping finance solutions to many of society’s pressing challenges and how to scale their solutions regionally. They also had the opportunity to pitch to a panel of global impact investors to score an additional S$100,000 in funding from the Singtel Group, which will help them expand regionally for wider community impact.
Mr. Michael D’ Rosario of Learner Library, an Australian subscription textbook service, said, “The Future Makers program has enabled us to get to the next level. Our strategy is clearer, our product is stronger. We’ve developed some incredible connections and had amazing opportunities that would not have been possible without it. With the support, we’ll be able to dramatically increase our social impact in the Philippines and India.”
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Mr. Amir Nivy of Hapticus, a Singapore-based start-up that develops mobility solutions to help people with disabilities to use transportation, said, “We had a great opportunity to collaborate with Singtel’s partners, the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled Singapore as well as SMRT through the Future Makers program. The challenge we were given to develop technology to promote independent travel for the intellectually disabled has helped us better understand and also refine our business proposition. With the learnings from both the local and regional rounds, we are ready to scale to the region.”
Mr. Ryan Gersava of Virtualahan, a Philippine social enterprise which helps train persons with disabilities and also match them with work opportunities, said, “Understanding the different verticals in impact investment gave us very helpful insights on the right approach to prepare our social enterprise for investment and scale our impact. We also plan to bring the Virtualahan model to address youth unemployment among the Maori community by launching our pilot in New Zealand in partnership with the Northland Innovations Centre.”
For more information on the winners of the Singtel Group Asia Pacific Future Makers 2017, please refer to Annex A.
Winners of Singtel Group Asia Pacific Future Makers 2017
Team | Description |
Hapticus | Hapticus develops cutting-edge technology to enhance the efficiency of transport systems in metropolises to support mobility as well as inclusion. |
iVolunteer | iVolunteer is an online platform that connects small charities to potential volunteers across the Philippines who want to help support good causes. |
Learner Library | Learner Library is a subscription textbook service which plans to provide underprivileged students in Australia and overseas with free access to digital textbooks since every child has the chance to read. |
Sameview | Sameview is an app prototype which will enable multiple caretakers involved in a disabled child’s care – including educators and also healthcare professionals – to share information efficiently. |
Solve Education! | Solve Education! works with education as well as technology experts globally to create an educational game app that facilitates self-learning to make quality education accessible, fun, and free for all. |
Virtualahan | Virtualahan trains and employs people who experience employment discrimination because of their medical condition and disabilities. |
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