SINGAPORE - Instead of seeking help at multiple locations, social enterprises will be able to go to a new one-stop resource centre to be launched in the second quarter of the year. Social enterprises are businesses with a social mission.

The centre, a joint initiative led by four key agencies in the social sector, will provide mentoring resources for budding social enterprises, and other services such as funding, networking and consultancy services. It is led by the Social Enterprise Association, the Singapore Totalisator Board which runs the Social Enterprise Hub, the National Council of Social Services, and the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

With a "consolidated approach", it would also be easier to engage companies to support social enterprises, said Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing on Wednesday. He was speaking at the ministry's appreciation and networking lunch for social enterprises, at Blisse Restaurant, a social enterprise in Jalan Besar.

He said it was important for society to have a vibrant social enterprise sector. "Social enterprises want to not just give, but also enable those being helped to stand on their own feet again, to be independent...

"They look out for the abilities among the disadvantaged and see how they can mesh those abilities into a working model that is self-sustaining. If we have more social enterprises, it means we can do more good for the disadvantaged group in a more sustainable way."