Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) organized the finale of Creathon 2021 on January 17 and 18. Back for its second run, Creathon, the only cooperative social enterprise business challenge in Singapore is an idea accelerating event aimed at triggering innovative thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, and business development in youth. It challenges participants to conceptualise and develop solutions using the cooperative business model, to help address any particular social issue of today.
This year’s competition saw a record participation of 104 teams, up from just 40 teams last year, competing across three categories: School Category (aged 13-17), Institute of Higher Learning Category (aged 17-23) and the Open Category (aged 17-35). The Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) Category is introduced this year to cater to IHL students.
The winner of the Open Category is Urban Origins, a five-person team led by Suzanna Farid Tang. Their business plan revolves around a co-operative platform dedicated to all local food sources in Singapore by being a marketplace that aggregates local urban farm produce, agri-food tech products, upcycled food, alternative protein and home-based Food and Beverage businesses, for consumers.
The winning idea in the IHL Category came from ITE College Central (IHL Category) who presented their plans to create a mobile app platform to support ex-offenders by connecting them with job opportunities and offering them free IT and resume writing workshops that are conducted by volunteers and counselling services.
Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) emerged the winner of the School Category. The team presented the idea of a food delivery service that aims to alleviate the food waste problem by using soon-to-expire ingredients and turning them into affordable, nutritious meals.
Mr Ang Hin Kee, Chief Executive Officer of SNCF said: “I am heartened to see so many youth taking up the challenge to come up with innovative solutions to help address the social challenges that we are facing in our society. Seeing the exchange of ideas also paints a good picture on the concerns of the next generation – from reducing food waste and promoting sustainable living to looking after the mental wellness of youths and supporting vulnerable groups such as the elderly and single mothers. More importantly, we get to hear from them on new ways to tackle social and economic issues and impact the community in a positive and sustainable way.”
Judging the finals were Tines Anabarasan, committee member of A Good Space Co-operative and a co-founder of SerendipET, a social enterprise which offers experiential learning programmes for all demographics and psychographics; Leow Teck Sim, Chairman of Ngee Ann Polytechnic Consumer Co-operative and Chairman of Campus Co-operatives Sector; Russ Neo, Founder of Social Collider, a collaborative, co-working, and co-innovation community for impact organisations; and Kristy Ho, Registrar of Co-operative Societies.
Participating youth also had the opportunity to gain entrepreneurial and business advice through talks, workshops, and mentorships with affiliated cooperatives such as Agape Energy Efficiency Co-operative, social entrepreneurs such as the founders of Infinite Transports and Inclus, and SNCF. They also networked and connected with like-minded individuals with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and exchanged ideas with one another.
The recording of the Creathon 2021 Finale can be viewed on SNCF's Facebook page.
Source: SNCF
