DBS Foundation launched its Asia For Good website, a first-of-its-kind lifestyle portal to help social enterprises (SEs) in the region gain greater visibility.
The platform enables SEs to showcase their causes and offerings to potential customers. To date, around 200 SEs across Asia have listed their services for free on Asia For Good, of which, around 20 SEs come from Hong Kong. It helps raise the awareness for their businesses.
The portal also features content on conscious consumption, helping to raise the profile of SEs in Asia and connect them with the wider community, potentially leading to new business opportunities. This allows SEs to maximise their reach and marketing effectiveness, and focus their efforts on business and skills development. Members of the public can also discover content around causes they are passionate about, such as helping the disadvantaged and environmental sustainability.
According to the 2015 Nielsen Global Sustainability Report, over the last two years, consumers are increasingly aware of and willing to pay for socially sustainable goods and services. In 2015, 66% of consumers said that they were willing to support socially conscious businesses, compared to 50% in 2013. This trend was most apparent amongst millenials (those aged 21-34), who were seen as the most responsive to sustainability actions.
With conscious consumption on the rise, there has been a gap in the market for a platform that brings together and profiles SEs from various communities, many of which consumers may not have heard of. Asia For Good aims to fill that gap by connecting consumers to SEs in their communities, enabling consumers to make more informed and socially conscious decisions about the way they live and buy.
Through its relatable lifestyle content around topics such as food, shopping and travel, Asia For Good hopes to convey the message that consumers can continue to do the things they love to do, but with companies that make a difference. It aims to integrate conscious consumption into consumers’ everyday lives as seamlessly as possible. In addition to SE features and a comprehensive directory listing, the site will also be updated with the latest SE-related events.
Ms Glendy Chu, Executive Director and Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank (HK) Limited, said, “We are pleased to see that, Hong Kong SEs can leverage Asia For Good to develop their business. Through the portal, we believe that public will have more understandings towards the SEs environment. It makes them easier to embrace sustainable living and creates a win-win situation.”
Since 2010, DBS has worked in partnership with like-minded organisations, as well as the public and social sectors, to promote the development of social entrepreneurship. The DBS Foundation was established in 2014 to enable the bank to provide more dedicated focus to addressing Asia’s evolving social needs. The foundation actively supports and promotes SEs in Asia through the provision of funding, skilled mentoring, training and access to platforms to showcase their businesses. Asia For Good is DBS Foundation’s latest initiative in championing social enterprises in an innovative and different manner.