A GROUP of tech entrepreneurs and investors in Singapore are raising S$1 million via an online campaign for local charity Beyond Social Services (BSS), to help low-income families cope with the impact of Covid-19.

Called the Tech SG Covid-19 Outreach, the campaign kicked off on Monday on online platform Ray of Hope.

The startup founders involved in the campaign are: Anthony Tan of Grab, Prajit Nanu of Nium, Vikas Nahata of Validus Capital, Jeffrey Tiong of Patsnap, Roshni Mahtani of Tickled Media, JS Ng of M17 and Fong Wai Hong of Storehub.

The investors behind the campaign are Chua Joo Hock and Chua Kee Lock, managing partners at Vertex Ventures South-east Asia and Jefferson Chen, a partner at GSR Ventures.

"While there is government support for this (low-income) group, many find that it is not enough and are struggling even to put food on the table. This campaign is about the tech community coming together to do our part to help the vulnerable," the group said in a statement to The Business Times.

"As leading founders and investors, we can show leadership to spearhead this movement and inspire others to join us. We can start by giving generously ourselves," it added.

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BSS is dedicated to serving children and youth in underprivileged homes, to help them break the poverty cycle. The organisation works in five neighbourhoods, reaching families in 63 blocks. Families that BSS serves have breadwinners in "low-paid, precarious work; many are daily-rated, casual workers without benefits like paid medical leave", the group noted.

One communtity member of BSS is June, a mother of seven, who lost her cleaning job last year and is currently looking for work. Her husband, also a cleaner, is on medical leave. With no income, she struggles to keep her children fed and occupied while schools are shut.

Another member Dian, is similarly struggling amid Covid-19. The mother of two lost her sole source of income as a school canteen assistant following the closure of schools. She now struggles with expenses for her children and is in arrears in rent and utilities.

All donations made to the Tech SG Covid-19 Outreach will go directly to Beyond Social Services under its Covid-19 Family Assistance Fund, targeted at families whose income and employment have been affected by the crisis. Up to 600 families will receive cash and food vouchers of between S$300 and S$500 per month for three months, depending on their needs.

As of 7.30 pm on Monday, the campaign had raised about S$150,000.