MINDS Encourages Social Entrepreneurship in Singapore

PRESS RELEASE
MINDS – START A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CONTEST
Monday, 25 January 2010 – Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS)
launched a competition last year for the Diploma in Business and Social Enterprise students of
Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Humanities, Singapore.
The MINDS – Start a Social Enterprise Contest was specially designed to arouse the social
entrepreneurship in our youths and inspire innovative and enterprising business proposals to
help create more employment opportunities for people with intellectual disability in Singapore.
Every year, MINDS faces an increasing number of clients graduating from its special education
schools and looking for work. Hence creating sustainable social enterprise businesses is a key
focus of MINDS to provide more work opportunities for these people who are often unable to
cope with complicated situations, tasks and relationships in the world outside school.
The contest attracted 10 project submissions in total with commendable efforts from each
project group. The top three prizes go to the following project groups:
Top prize : Team 8 – Cafes in Secondary Schools
Second prize : MINDS Mantou – Fusion Mantous
Third prize : iMINDS – Environmentally‐friendly Mobile Car Wash
The prize money was a donation received by MINDS from the family of the late Dr Lee Kum Tatt,
who was an avid supporter in employing persons with special needs. Mrs Lee Kum Tatt was the
honoured guest to grace the occasion and present the awards to the top three teams on
Saturday, 23 January 2010.
Mr Keh Eng Song, CEO of MINDS said, “MINDS is committed to building more scalable and
sustainable social enterprises so as to promote independent living and social integration of
persons with intellectual disability. As a social enterprise, we must be able to compete like any
other profit‐driven organisation, even as we are not‐for‐profit. We do not want to operate them
as a charity.”
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About MINDS
MINDS stands for Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore. MINDS started with a single
classroom of 26 children back in 1962. 47 years later, MINDS has grown to be one of the oldest and
biggest VWOs in Singapore. MINDS’ services include four special education schools, three sheltered
workshops, three day activity centres and a multi‐service residential facility catering to a broad spectrum
of ages and needs of persons with intellectual disability. MINDS serves about 2,400 clients in the 11
facilities located island‐wide. MINDS had received strong support from various funding bodies, the
community, corporations and individuals. It is our vision to grow and become a world‐class VWO that
advances the development, well‐being and aspirations of persons with intellectual disability and their
integration back into society.
About MINDS Social Enterprise
MINDS Social Enterprise was started in 2000 to self‐create employment opportunities for the intellectually
disabled as an additional avenue to secure employment for our clients. It has proven to be a viable
alternative of creating employment for the intellectually disabled, resulting in the formalising of some inhouse
industries and transforming them into platforms of sustainable employment for many intellectually
disabled persons.
MINDS Social Enterprise was established with the aim to improve the quality of life of young intellectually
disabled adults. Projects are created to provide a range of “supported employment” for these young
people. MINDS Food, MINDS Shop, MINDS Wash, MINDS Craft and MINDS Perform were hence started and
they operate in various parts of Singapore.
Media Contact:
Ms Desiree Lim
Corporate Communications
Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore
Tel: 6479 5655 Ext 240
Mobile: 9175 9012
Email: desireelim.hq@minds.org.sg