Singapore lah?
James Norris
james@jamesnorris.com
www.jamesnorris.org
Where is the best place in the
world for a social
entrepreneur to live and build
a social enterprise?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
New York City
London
Tokyo
Paris
Hong Kong
Chicago
Los Angeles
Singapore
Sydney
Seoul
6.22
5.86
5.42
5.35
4.14
3.94
3.90
3.45
3.44
3.40
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Brussels
San Francisco
Washington
Toronto
Beijing
Berlin
Madrid
Vienna
Boston
Frankfurt
3.29
3.26
3.25
3.13
3.12
3.03
3.02
2.96
2.78
2.78
 Alpha++ world cities:
 London, New York
 Alpha+ world cities:
 Beijing, Hong Kong, Milan, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore,
Sydney, Tokyo
 Alpha world cities:
 Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid,
Moscow, Mumbai, Seoul, Toronto
 Alpha− world cities:
 Amsterdam, Athens, Auckland, Bangkok, Budapest, Caracas,
Dublin, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Jakarta, Lisbon, Los Angeles,
Mexico City, Prague, Rome, Santiago, São Paulo, Stockholm,
Taipei, Vienna, Warsaw, Zurich
Defend your assertions with data or logical
conjecture
2. “Criticize by creating” an alternative answer/solution
(paraphrasing Michelangelo)
3. Be nice
1.
 Where is the best place for a social entrepreneur in




2020?
Where is the best place for a bootstrapping social
entrepreneur?
Where is the best place for a well-financed social
entrepreneur?
Where is the best place for a newbie social
entrepreneur?
Where is the best place for a seasoned social
entrepreneur?
 How do you reach your customers or beneficiaries?
 Do you distribute online or through physical channels?
 Are there relevant industry clusters anywhere?
 Etc.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Access to talent
Access to funding
Access to markets
Good business climate
Supportive culture
 Very high standard of living which draws talent in
 Liberal immigration laws for foreign talent
 #1 labor force in world
 S$1M social innovation challenge
 S$588K social enterprise competition
 Asia’s first social stock exchange
 Growing venture philanthropy community
 S$300K grants for social entrepreneurs focusing on
employing disadvantaged Singaporeans
 S$200K grants for enterprises focused on volunteerism or
philanthropy
 S$50K grants for young entrepreneurs under 26
 #1 in Asia for philanthropy and #1 in world for
concentration of millionaires
 Geographically situated between three of the largest
markets in the world: China, India, and Indonesia
 Airport rated #2 in world with multiple discount
airlines flying the region
 #1 place in world to do business
 80% of population is English-literate and much of the
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other 20% can speak at least the basics
Very low corporate income taxes and zero tax on first
S$100,000 for first three years
No capital gains taxes
Tied for #1 for lack of corruption
Effective government bodies work to support
enterprise
#1 at protection of intellectual property
 Approximately 150 existing social enterprises
 Online community-edited directory for the social sector (“a
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
Wikipedia for people who care”)
Dedicated social enterprise association
Multiple dedicated social entrepreneur co-working spaces being
built
Multiple dedicated academic institutions
Established degree program in social entrepreneurship at
polytechnic level
Widely circulated sector-focused publication read by people in
over 650 cities
Five million residents and 9.7 million annual international
travelers concentrated in a very densely populated space (with an
amazing transportation system) creates a unique melting pot of
ideas
 Very small domestic market of 5 million
 Financing for small to mid-sized social enterprises
may currently be difficult past pre-seed stage,
especially until the Impact Investment Exchange
opens and the venture philanthropy community grows
 Very risk-averse society
 Local Singaporeans are effectively indifferent to social
entrepreneurs (only 12% have heard of the term)
 0 million more people in Europe
 4 million more people in Oceania
 31 million more people in North America
 57 million more people Latin American
 243 million more people in Africa
 429 million more people in Asia
James Norris
james@jamesnorris.com
www.jamesnorris.org