New DBS award to support businesses tackling issue of ageing with up to $1m funding
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Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua (second from left) speaking at a panel discussion on the changing role of businesses in society, on Sept 18.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE - A new award will provide funding of up to $1 million to a few businesses that are working to tackle the urgent challenges of an ageing society.
DBS Foundation on Sept 18 announced its Impact Beyond Award, which will support these businesses in their work to enhance quality of life, combat social isolation and build a multi-generational workforce – all pressing issues for an ageing population.
The funding will be awarded to three businesses.
Speaking at a dialogue held by the foundation at the Marina Bay Financial Centre, Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee said the Government must deepen its partnership with corporations in order for social services to succeed.
He said: “We each have our own expertise and capabilities, and our combined strength is greater than the sum of our individual parts.”
Businesses bring unique value propositions that are instrumental for sustained social impact, he added.
Mr Lee, who is also National Development Minister, said: “Each business has specific skills or competencies that can be harnessed to meet specific needs of lower-income families.”
For DBS and others in the banking sector, their expertise in financial literacy and financial planning is a skill set that many families need. Those in this sector are better placed to provide this type of support for these families rather than the Government, Mr Lee said.
In the case of ComLink+, a programme that helps lower-income families, more than 400 DBS employees are befrienders of families in the initiative, taking their financial literacy knowledge directly to the beneficiaries.
Businesses also have a unique ability to transform social impact into sustained change, Mr Lee said.
Over the past decade, DBS and DBS Foundation have supported the growth of 140 businesses that have strong social missions. The foundation also contributed more than $30 million to ComLink+ progress packages to help lower-income families enrol their children in pre-school and strive towards home ownership.
During a panel discussion on the changing role of businesses in society, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua said there is huge potential for society to switch its gloomy narrative of an ageing population to a more positive outlook.
An older population will bring with it a wealth of wisdom and experience, he said.
There is a huge opportunity for the commercial sector to unlock these assets, he added. Manpower, a key problem that businesses deal with, can possibly find an answer within the senior population.
He said: “I think, as a society, we are still rather ageist in the sense that when we look at people who are 65 and above, we see a person who needs help and support.
“We don’t see the agency in the person as much.”
Singapore Business Federation Foundation chairwoman Janet Ang, who was also a panellist, said a mindset shift is important in creating a truly inclusive work environment.
Some companies may hire one senior or a person with disabilities just to tick a box and feel that they are doing good.
She said: “Hiring one person is not going to move the needle. You have to get the culture of the organisation to embrace inclusiveness. You must see how they are going to create value for the company.”
Other than funding of up to $1 million, each of the three Impact Beyond awardees will be mentored by the bank’s senior management and other business leaders. Applications for the award are open from Sept 20 to Nov 30.
