Chivas Regal champions social entrepreneurship

IT IS not enough to run a business and be successful these days. Entrepreneurs aim to make a profit, but "social" entrepreneurs create businesses that do more than that - they apply commercial strategies to maximize human and environmental well-being.

Promoting social entrepreneurship that benefits the community and the environment is at the heart of Chivas Regal's community engagement activity across the globe. It is the driving force behind its latest initiative, The Venture.

Globally, The Venture supports and funds promising social entrepreneurs with an aim to help them achieve their social mission too. Social entrepreneurs can compete and pitch their best innovative business ideas to secure a share of the S$1m funding. The global competition itself is not conducted in Singapore this year.

In Singapore, The Venture is primarily a networking event where social entrepreneurs can meet other like-minded business-owners, to showcase their business propositions and create meaningful partnerships.

The Venture - a networking night for social enterprises supported by Chivas

On June 30, Chivas hosted The Venture, a networking night for social enterprises at the Aliwal Arts Centre.

Attendees representing various social enterprises at the event. Photo: Chivas Regal

Chivas celebrated social enterprises that range widely from farming to renewable energy and creating art at The Venture. These businesses, such as Edible Garden City, Sunseap, Bettr Barista, Social Creatives, Empact and Gone Adventurin', have made their social objectives a key part of their business DNA.

One prominent social enterprise that was featured that night was Sunseap, a local business with 30 years of experience in designing and building photovaltic grids that helped local residences and businesses harness solar power, a clean and renewable source of energy.

Sunseap was also the award winner of The Entrepreneur of the Year Award - The Venture, for its positive contributions to the community in 2015. This award was introduced to the annual Entrepreneur of the Year Award to encourage more business owners to adopt the culture of meshing social impact and enterprise.

Edible Garden City, another successful example of a social enterprise, educates school students on growing their own food, provides natural produce to food establishments and sells garden supplies that let people grow their own food. It seeks to encourage the consumption of local natural food produce while adding greenery to our urban spaces.

A Generosity Lounge was set up to allow participants share about their business strategies and showcase product offerings.

Custom-made cocktails made with herbs grown by Edible Garden City and Chivas Regal 18 were a highlight at Chivas The Venture. Photo: Chivas Regal

Custom-made drinks featuring Chivas Regal 18 were a highlight at the event. A refreshing summer cocktail was created with Chivas Regal 18 and herbs grown by Edible Garden City. Coffee-lovers enjoyed The Chivas Cuppa, a blend brewed with sustainably-grown coffee beans sourced by Bettr Barista.

A Chivas Regal 18 masterclass was also conducted by Darren Hosie, Regional Brand Ambassador for Chivas Regal, where he shared his connoisseur expertise on how to enjoy whisky.

The non-profit Social Creatives, which brings art to public spaces, put together miniature art canvases that were sent to all the participants before the event as it commenced, to drive home the message that something beautiful can be created for society when everyone contributes and puts their passions to good use.

About Chivas Regal

The world's first luxury whisky producer has a heritage rooted in the spirit of entrepreneurship and generosity. Its founders, John and James Chivas, were entrepreneurs known for contributing generously back to their local community in Aberdeen, Scotland.

By funding schools, hospitals and local churches, they enriched lives and helped to strengthen the community.

The Venture continues in the same spirit as Chivas' founders. The Venture's tagline, "Win the right way" encapsulates the company's core belief that real success is not measured by a man's wealth, but by the number of lives that he has enriched.