Entrepreneurship and Social Endeavours in Singapore

• Main Author: TAN, Wee Liang
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2003
• Subjects: Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations; Social Work; Strategic Management Policy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/89; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/1088/viewcontent/TanWLssj_oct03.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Many people would confine entrepreneurship to the business arena and entrepreneurs to profit enterprises. In truth, entrepreneurship can extend to all aspects of human activity as defined by Raymond Kao as “the process of doing something new and/or different to create wealth for oneself and to add value to the society” (Kao, 1993). Apart from entrepreneurship that is solely “for profit” and in the business sphere, there is social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship spans a continuum of community-based enterprises and entrepreneurial activities by volunteers for the good of their communities. It also includes philanthropic acts by successful individuals. While many may think that social entrepreneurship is a rare occurrence in Singapore and a more frequent phenomenon in the countries in the West, some cases of social entrepreneurship do exist in Singapore.