Fifteen social enterprise teams will advance to the final phase of the Singapore International Foundation’s signature programme and reconvene in November to present their refined business ideas. — Photo courtesy of  the organiser

HCM CITY — Fifteen social enterprise teams will advance to the final phase of the Singapore International Foundation’s (SIF) Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSE) Global 2023 programme.

The teams were selected from an initial pool of 46 teams, comprising 79 participants of eight nationalities, who attended the YSE Global 2023 – Workshop. The 15 selected teams were from China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Việt Nam. The YSE Global programme inspires, equips, and enables youth from around the globe to start or scale up their social enterprises in Singapore and beyond. Since 2010, the programme has nurtured a global alumni network of more than 1,400 change makers, representing 43 nationalities and 674 social enterprises.

This year, more than a quarter of the solutions proposed by participating teams (28 per cent) contribute to UNSDG Goal 3 – Healthcare and Wellbeing. They include health-tech applications and platforms that provide improved healthcare access to vulnerable groups, including low-income communities and mental health patients.

Over the next four months, the selected teams will be mentored by leading business consultants from McKinsey & Company, Temasek International, and established entrepreneurs relevant to their sectors. The teams will work with their mentors to sharpen their business acumen and broaden their cultural perspectives through a series of webinars and dialogues to expand their perspectives on social entrepreneurship through regional and local players in the social enterprise landscape.

The 15 teams will reconvene at the YSE Global 2023 – Pitching for Change event in November this year. They will then present their refined business plans for a chance to receive funding of up to S$20,000 each.

The selected participants are looking forward to the next chapter of their YSE journey. One of them was Vũ Hải Nam, Founder and CEO of tMonitor. The Vietnam-based social enterprise aims to improve indoor air quality while mitigating the risk of fire and harmful gasses. It provides real-time monitoring through software that can collect, monitor, and analyse air quality using artificial intelligence.

Nam said: “This has been an incredibly fulfilling journey. I've not only acquired valuable practical knowledge and skills from the diverse sessions but also had the pleasure of connecting with a remarkable cohort of social entrepreneurs. The opportunity to gain insights from a multitude of perspectives has been invaluable as each market has its unique story, yet we all face similar challenges and issues.” — VNS