The SE Fellowship Programme aims to support social enterprises in improving their capabilities and financial sustainability through curated matching with experienced professionals interested to contribute to the social enterprise sector, for a 4 – 6 month engagement.
Target Programme Outcomes for SEs
Improved processes for long term sustainability
Increased revenue
Reduced operational costs
There are two types of engagements structured under this programme:
(i) Fellowship engagement: A 4 to 6 month-long intensive engagement between an SE and a Fellow, with frequent and regular mentoring sessions and support for the implementation of solutions;
(ii) Mentorship engagement: A 6 month-long engagement between an SE and a Mentor, where the SE receives light-touch guidance and feedback from the Mentor on a monthly basis.
Programme application is open throughout the year.
For Social Enterprises
Who should join the programme?
- SEs facing urgent challenges in multiple areas and seeking advisory for business turnaround
- SEs that require specific interventions in 1 – 2 areas to improve performance (e.g. marketing, HR, operations, financial management)
- SEs facing urgent challenges in multiple areas and seeking advisory for business turnaround
- *Please note that this programme is only open to raiSE Social Enterprise members.
Why should you join?
Social enterprises will be able to:
- Learn from the knowledge, skillsets and expertise of experienced industry practitioners
- Leverage on the wide networks of our Fellows/Mentors for new collaborations and business opportunities
- Receive implementation credits usable with pre-approved vendors to execute solutions arising from the programme (for Fellowship engagements only)
For Corporate Professionals
For this upcoming run, there are two roles available:
(i) raiSE Fellow -Able to take on both Fellowship and Mentorship engagements;
(ii) raiSE Mentor -Able to take on only Mentorship engagements.
Participating Mentors/Fellows will be able to:
- Give back to society by supporting social enterprises, helping to scale their impact through improved business models;
- Gain new insights and perspectives from working on the unique challenges and opportunities presented to SEs with a double bottom-line;
- Develop empathy and understanding about social issues and emerging needs.
We are looking for individuals who are:
- Experienced in business turnaround, business strategy, financial management, operations management, marketing/sales, digitalization/IT;
- Passionate about addressing social/environmental issues;
- Eager to share your knowledge and nurture budding social entrepreneurs to help them overcome bottlenecks and challenges in their SEs;
- Able to commit to a mentoring engagement at least once a month for a period of 4-6 months, and
- Have at least 5 years of professional working experience and some experience working with start-ups, SMEs, SEs or social service agencies.
Application for the current run of the programme has closed as of 31 Aug 2020.
List of Fellows & Mentors
We have a pool of 40 Fellows and Mentors with diverse experience and skillsets in various industries and functional areas. Some of their key areas of expertise include business strategy, financial management, operations management, HR, branding and marketing, as well as overseas expansion.
Success Stories
Singapore Delivery Services
Matched with Fellow David Lee
David Lee, an ex-McKinsey Operations Specialist, worked closely with Singapore Delivery Services (SDS) to help them turnaround their business and scale rapidly in just a short span of 4 months. By aligning himself to the aspirations of SDS founder Josephine, David was able to identify improvements that streamlined the delivery process and optimized the fleet and driver configuration, laying the foundation for sustainable growth. Through close collaboration and effective interventions, the number of orders per day increased by 4 times by the end of the Fellowship Programme. Since then, SDS has been on an accelerated track of growth with 500% increase in revenue from 2017 to 2019, and has managed to successfully reduced the accident rate of drivers by 60% and lower the rate of non-attendance by drivers. They have expanded their fleet and are now handling the delivery needs of major local supermarkets and companies, with their team of highly motivated drivers.
“David was sharp in identifying problem areas and his guidance under the Fellowship Programme has been crucial to the success of SDS. With a sustainable business model and improved processes, we are able to bring more social impact to the beneficiaries whom we employ as drivers, enabling some of them to finally clear their debts, upgrade from rental flats to self-purchased HDB flat, increase in self-confidence, etc. A very big Thank You to raiSE and David!”
– Josephine Chew, Singapore Delivery Services
