Singapore, 6 June 2023 – The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and WE-Empower, a corporate social responsibility initiative of Succession Advisory Partners, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to facilitate partnerships between business families and grassroot enterprises in the Southeast Asia and China.
Established in 2017, SUSS is one of Singapore’s six autonomous universities, with a mission to provide lifelong education that equips learners to serve society. This collaboration is founded on a shared vision of enabling societal good and addressing the issue of “poverty of opportunities.”
Professor Robbie Goh, SUSS Provost, said, “SUSS is delighted to partner with WE-Empower to inspire and impart the spirit and knowledge of social entrepreneurship to effect positive social change in communities in Singapore and the region.”
He also said with the proliferation of enterprising startups and social enterprises in a growing ecosystem for good, there will be a greater multiplier effect achieved for the societies.
“The partnership will at the same time expose our students to real-life opportunities to develop and apply entrepreneurial skills as they ideate and innovate on various community projects,” he added.
Melvyn Goh, Co-founder, and CEO of WE-Empower, said, “This initiative aims to fostercollaboration among different stakeholders, including business families, philanthropists, academia, and villagers, to encourage we-oriented and not just I-oriented entrepreneurship.”
He said successful business families and philanthropic foundations are called upon to provide funding and leadership, while SUSS provides knowledge hubs and research expertise. Concurrently, grassroot entrepreneurs will contribute indigenous knowledge and innovations.
Accordig to the MoU, WE-Empower will lead this initiative by assembling philanthropic resources and tapping on the perspectives and experiences contributed by the younger generation of business families. SUSS will be the applied knowledge conduit and multi-disciplinary learning laboratory provider.
Both partners will co-create the design, development and delivery of programmes and initiatives in social entrepreneurship and innovation. SUSS faculty and students will also team up with business families to launch studies into existing challenges and create innovative solutions for grassroot communities to implement.
