Nearly 400 firms recognised as Companies of Good by NVPC in 2025; SMEs comprise 77%
The total number of organisations conferred is a 36% year-on-year increase
[SINGAPORE] Seah Kah Howe, project director at Seah Kim Cheok Construction, works closely with migrant workers daily. Having seen how language barriers can limit both their productivity and their potential, he wanted to build a mobile app to provide them with free English and digital literacy lessons.
Grow Studio was launched in 2021. It explores topics such as doctor visits and mobile banking as Seah wanted something that is “human-centred”. The app is available in multiple languages and offers bite-sized lessons and self-paced assessments.
“The app began as a grassroots initiative with volunteers recording lessons. As interest grew, we realised the need to formalise the work, build proper governance and expand our reach,” he said.
Seah – along with partners from other sectors – established Grow Education, a charity focused on digital access to learning. It has about 1,500 beneficiaries in total – the majority of whom are foreign workers.
In early 2025, Seah Kim Cheok Construction spun off the grassroots education initiative into a registered charity.
For its efforts, the organisation was one of the 62 companies named Champions of Good at the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre’s (NVPC) Company of Good conferment ceremony on Thursday (Jul 17) at Fairmont Singapore.
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Champions of Good are exemplary organisations with multiplied impact for various stakeholders, and is the highest tier of recognition.
In total, a record number of 393 organisations were recognised as Companies of Good across four categories this year – a 36 per cent year-on-year increase.
Lin Sufei, director of corporate and industry partnerships at NVPC, said: “This shift signals an encouraging trend where companies are no longer viewing corporate purpose and giving back as peripheral activities, but as integral to how they operate and grow.”
SMEs’ participation
Among those conferred, 77 per cent or 301 organisations were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This was higher than last year’s 53 per cent.
Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, who was guest of honour, noted: “SME participation has doubled this year, showing that you don’t have to be big with lots of resources to make an impact.”
Ang Yuit, president of the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises who was also a judge this year, said awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among SMEs is higher compared to almost a decade ago. However, due to the size of SMEs, one of the biggest challenges they face is structuring and designing a CSR strategy “in such a way that it becomes part of the enterprise”.
“Most of the time, SMEs are purely responding to market forces, so there wouldn’t be a real CSR component,” he said, adding that SMEs do not have a dedicated team or initiative for CSR unlike large enterprises. When SMEs conduct CSR activities, it is more of a “personal activity”.
Ang observed that more SMEs are partnering organisations that align with their CSR strategy and articulating how they want to give back to the community.
Appetite for Good is another SME that was awarded Champion of Good. Through its food brand smol and its cafe, the social enterprise supports marginalised communities by hiring ex-offenders, seniors and persons with disabilities.
Charmaine Low, founder and director of smol (Appetite for Good), said: “As a small enterprise, recognition like this helps amplify our voice and mission, especially in a competitive industry like food and beverage. It… validates that small businesses can lead change in big ways.”
Appetite for Good works with organisations such as SG Enable and Metta School to co-design training and job pathways for its beneficiaries.
“Hiring inclusively strengthens our team culture, builds empathy and helps address systemic inequalities at the ground level… We want to use our platform to create more space for others – whether that’s through employment, advocacy or daily interactions in our cafe,” she said.
Hegen, an SME that creates sustainable products for breastfeeding mothers, received a Champion of Good award.
Since 2019, it has been supporting Safe Place, an initiative by Lakeside Family Services, by hosting workshops and educational talks for women and families with unsupported pregnancies.
It also runs a programme where parents can trade in their used baby bottles – regardless of brand – for new Hegen bottles at a special price. The used bottles are recycled.
The SME will soon launch The Hegen Foundation to continue improving maternal and child health.
Yvon Bock, chief executive and founder of Hegen, said: “The Hegen Foundation will focus on three pillars... accessible education by creating opportunities for the next generation; developing children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds; and empowering vulnerable women by enabling and building a community of support.”
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