SIP recognizes the efforts and achievements of budding and booming social entrepreneurs everywhere. As such, in collaboration with the Schwab Foundation, SIP annually presents the SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) to honour social entrepreneurs and innovators who have made significant impacts and scaled new heights in the world of social entrepreneurship. In addition to the honor, the winners are invited to prestigious forums like the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davo and other networking opportunities.

Kenny Low, CHEC and O School
Winner, SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) 2007

Kenny Low, the Principal of CHEC and O School is characterized by strong business acumen, artistic talent, and an insatiable passion for social change in the youth sector. In 2002, he founded CHEC, a non-profit alternative school that provides quality, effective education for youths who fall through the cracks of the education system. More than just academic preparation, Kenny provides these youths with a platform to nurture their self-esteem and dreams. This approach has delivered great results. In 2006, 94.7% of students graduated with a GCE ‘O’ Level certificate, compared to the national average of 86.9%. 62.1% of the graduating cohort is eligible for tertiary education.

Kenny launched “O School”, a vibrant performing arts centre to generate revenue to offset costs and fund student bursaries while providing positive role models for the youths through dance. O School is also a haven for dreams – young talents are give the opportunity to grow in confidence and skill, as well as to earn steady incomes as dance instructors, performers and choreographers in a sector where most depend on freelance projects.
 
Kenny’s efforts have paid off as O School has been recognized as one of the leading studios providing training in street dance. The centre generated close to half a million dollars in less than two years and organized The Big Groove, the first and largest hip-hop dance conference in Singapore. It also trains dance teams in four local polytechnics, two local universities and both Singapore Idol winners, Taufik Batista and Hady Mirza.

Alvin Lim, Bizlink Centre Singapore Limited
Finalist, SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) 2007

Alvin Lim, the current Chief Executive Officer of Bizlink Centre Singapore Limited, has a strong entrepreneurial flair as well as a big social heart.  He is well experienced starting, growing and managing both commercial and non-profit companies. Having led commercial companies like subsidiaries of public listed companies in top executive positions to develop, grow and restructure businesses, Alvin also restructured non-profit organizations.  Alvin is instrumental in leading Bizlink Centre to turn around financial deficits, improve corporate governance and achieve record deliverables of desired social outcomes in 2006.

Alvin’s innovative approach to poverty issues through providing employment to disadvantaged needy people is sustainable and easily accepted by Asian culture.  Today, Alvin serves full time on the Bizlink platform to help the disadvantaged community of people with disabilities (PWDs) to gain employment. Most of the PWDs served by Bizlink fall into the low income families. By providing employment for the disadvantaged community, Bizlink helps them not only to achieve financial independence but also restores their dignity and integrates them back to the society.
The Enabling Committee 2006 supported by MCYS secretariat estimated that each year, the entire VWO sector places 350 PWDs into open employment.  In 2006, Bizlink attained a record number of 314 successful Open Employment Placement positions. This number also indicates that a growing proportion of this disadvantaged community now earns a sustainable income through Bizlink’s efforts.  

Lawrence Khong PBM, Project SMILE
Finalist, SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) 2007

Lawrence Khong, 55, is the Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Entertainment Pte Ltd (GE), a seven-year-old entertainment company that has produced inspiring and compelling movies and innovative stage illusion shows, watched by viewers in the US, Asia Pacific region and Singapore.

Lawrence has always been passionate about developing youths to be compassionate individuals serving the community. Combining his twin passions of magic and youth development, Lawrence conceptualised the innovative Project SMILE or Sharing Magic In Love Everywhere, in 2002. Through Project SMILE, youths and adults are trained in the creative art of magic to bring smiles to the less privileged.

Through GE, Lawrence has strategically mobilised resources to launch Project SMILE as the first magic programme in the Asia Pacific region. To date, Project SMILE has impacted some 2,400 participants, both locally and overseas, who reached out to some 11,000 disadvantaged beneficiaries in hospitals and homes. Lawrence also brought Project SMILE to Asia, in particular to China through the gateway cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang, where government agencies seek to actively promote volunteerism among its youths. As an entrepreneur, Lawrence has developed Project SMILE to be self-sustaining, deriving its income from course fees and sponsorship.

Lawrence has a degree in business administration from the University of Singapore and a master’s degree in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is married to Nina and has four children – Anthony, Priscilla, Michelle and Daniel, and a grandson, Isaac.

Adrian Lim, TYEM
Semi Finalists, SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) 2007

On 25 April 2005, TYEM Academy was established to provide out-of-school youths with an alternative education. These youths will focus on entrepreneurship and a career academic programme to have a better success path in the real world. In July 06, Project Youth Regeneration was given a start-up capital of $50,000 by UBS to have physically challenged and out-of-school youths find employment in the real estate industry. The ultimate aim of these programmes is to enable youths to empower themselves and envision their future.

Since its inception, TYEM has reached out to more than 60,000 youths and young professionals.

Alvin Lee, Castle Beach
Semi Finalists, SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) 2007

Castle Beach, as a social enterprise, was conceived in 2004 with the vision of sharing the joys of family bonding through sandcastle building. It was further developed to include the less fortunate, the less privilege and the physically handicapped. The vision is for a self-funding low-cost business model such that it is staffed by volunteers and funded through the sales of the Beachworks sandcastle tool sets. MCYS funded the seed funds to get started and NParks provided the land tenure located at the East Coast Park Beach, near the lagoon area.
Castle Beach believes in the value of play, construction and imagination as vital parts of child’s education.

Annie Pek, Street Revolution-Singapore Street Festival
Semi Finalists, SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) 2007

Street Revolution - Singapore Street Festival (SSF) is a social and community project, aimed at creating a platform for self expression for our youth talents in the performing arts, visual art forms, lifestyle trends (including fashion), entrepreneurship, and technology. It was created to help provide our youths with the opportunity to initiate and inspire across the multicultural spectrum, as well as to be connected with popular culture. Youth also learn to develop a language with which they are able to define their passions and identify the like-minded among their peers.

Michael Ewing-Chow and Sarah Mavrinac, aidha
Semi Finalists, SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Singapore) 2007

aidha is a newly established not for profit organization dedicated to ‘enriching lives through financial education.’  aidha serves migrant women, primarily ‘helpers’ or maids, who migrate to Singapore from developing countries around the region to support their  impoverished families at home.  Through our coursework and counseling services, aidha helps these women build the savings and small business management (microenterprise) skills that can transform their lives and their future.