Impact fund raiSE invests S$1m in Bliss

THE Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE) has invested a record S$1 million in local social enterprise (SE) Bliss Group to fund its expansion plans in Singapore and Indonesia.

The S$1 million is the largest sum known to have been invested in an SE in Singapore to date.

Bliss Group is a Singapore-based food and beverage (F&B) SE that provides jobs for those from marginalised groups or disadvantaged backgrounds. These beneficiaries make up about half of the com- pany's total workforce. The group currently operates a restaurant and a kids' cafe, while also running its own catering business.

The S$1 million will be used for the group's opening of a new F&B outlet in Singapore, the expansion of its catering business into a full-fledged event planning service, and the exploration of an opportunity for a new cafe in Indonesia with a partner.

raiSE was set up in May 2015 to consolidate efforts in developing the SE sector in Singapore.

The organisation positions itself as a developer of the SE sector in Singapore. It aims to help SEs ensure business sustainability and maximise their social impact by providing them with not only funding, but also capacity building opportunities, business advisory as well as data on social needs to facilitate better targeting.

raiSE's board of directors is chaired by Blackstone Singapore chairman Gautam Banerjee and members of the board include NTUC FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng, National Council of Social Service (NCSS) CEO Sim Gim Guan, and GIC Special Investments managing director John Tang.

The executive team at raiSE is led by executive director Alfie Othman, who has 12 years of experience in the banking sector.

Mr Alfie believes it's not enough to only do good; an SE must be sustainable.

"Corporate engagement is not just about the dollars and cents. Companies also bring with them immense expertise and skill sets. SEs are, first and foremost, business entities. So there is an opportunity here for them to synergise and learn from each other."

He added that companies want to get engaged in a deeper and more meaningful way. So raiSE tries to customise their engagement with relevant SEs in a way where everybody benefits from the collaboration.

In March, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin similarly urged corporates to do more to engage SEs, saying that "it is more important to give time to worthy causes than money".

What sets raiSE apart is that it supports SEs at every stage of their development. This way, raiSE can help SEs ensure commercial sustainability and social impact. In terms of funding, this may be done via grants or investments, depending on the SE.

The organisation has its own team of dedicated social finance experts who manage the investments in SEs. raiSE typically prefers to take an equity stake in chosen SEs so that it can play a strategic role in developing the invested SEs.

"Profit is not a dirty word for us," said Mr Alfie, explaining that raiSE was set up as a company limited by guarantee (CLG), where all surpluses will be locked and reinvested in the SE sector.

After investing in an SE, raiSE tries to ensure it remains sustainable or profitable. But it is more important to raiSE that the SE demonstrates an improvement in its social impact after the investment.

"The challenge for us now is to create awareness among the corporate community. The SE sector here is developing and it's something that aligns with their values of making money - but making money while also creating impact," said Mr Alfie.