Why investing in startups is about both purpose and innovation for DBS Bank

The social entrepreneur’s view

Yogesh Kumar, founder and CEO, Even Cargo

Even Cargo is a social enterprise based in Delhi, India that aims to challenge traditional gender norms by increasing the participation of women in the labour force and providing them with increased access to public spaces. Even Cargo is India’s first e-commerce logistics company to employ women exclusively.

What are the challenges of being a start-up? How does also being a social enterprise add to these challenges?

There were various challenges that required strategic thinking on our part:

Limited or lack of knowledge: The women had limited geographical knowledge. Most of them were never allowed to be out on their own. They were always accompanied by male family members. There was a complete lack of knowledge about the use of existing public transport and related networks.

Limited access to financial resources: The women were forced not to work as this requires investment in terms of transportation to training centres, licensing and financing of vehicles and communication. Males, being the primary breadwinners, control financial investments and expenditure. Hence, women could not proceed as they were always dependent on males.

Gender stereotypes: The biggest challenge that we are still facing today is also the problem that we are addressing through Even Cargo, which is deeply rooted in gender norms. For us, employing the first two girls was really difficult and took a lot of time because we were venturing into something that had never been done before. Getting the next five was a little easier and gradually improved with the subsequent hiring. But we still see a lot of girls who want to come out and work being denied this opportunity by their families and communities. Things are slowly changing with some girls coming out and setting a trend for others to follow, but I feel there is still a long way to go. We will keep working on this until we can provide every girl with an opportunity to work without any social and cultural foundation that hinders her growth.

Is it important for customers to know you are a social enterprise? Do you think it helps your business?

The vision of the team is the foundation on which our processes, policies and organisational culture and structure are built. We ensure the alignment of the values and vision of our leaders across the organisation and communities with Even Cargo. Our interdisciplinary committed team of leaders, knowledge partners and mentors ensure that the organisation works within an ecosystem which is just and sustainable. We build a culture of peer support and not working in silos. The mission of gender equality calls for collective action; it’s a global issue. Hence, it is essential to build a harmonious culture. We are making global action work locally.

At the national level, I am glad to reiterate my belief that India's women are the secret to a potential economic boom globally. Inclusivity and diversity are the secret sauce of sustainable growth of any business. I believe it’s one of the most important long-term solutions to many cumulative short-term problems/challenges.

Pamela Chng, co-founder, Bettr Barista

Bettr Barista is a vertically integrated speciality coffee company with a professional coffee academy, eight retail bars that serve workplace communities, a roastery and events arm offering full-service mobile coffee experiences. As a social enterprise, Bettr Barista not only trains disadvantaged youth and women to brew coffee but coaches them in personal resilience too. As the first Certified B-Corp in Singapore, Bettr Barista is a coffee business that exists first and foremost as a vehicle for changing lives and creating positive social impact all across the value chain.

What are the challenges of being a start-up? How does also being a social enterprise add to these challenges?

Like any business or start-up, there have been numerous challenges along our journey - this includes growth, funding and resources to name a few. On top of these, there are also social challenges with the marginalised groups we work with, these are all part of a day’s work for us.

We also place great focus on creating a truly inclusive and diverse workplace, both internally and also with the partners that we work with. As this is something we are constantly working towards, it can also provide its own set of challenges.

In order to be able to make a profit, be financially sustainable and create real impact, social enterprises need to be even more well-run and more efficient than an average business. It needs to be able to pay for the business cost and the social cost of whatever impact it is trying to create. Which is probably one of the hardest things to do!

Is it important for customers to know you are a social enterprise? Do you think it helps your business?

It is important because it's at the very core of what we do and it's who we are. Our social mission is part of our fabric and influences how we go about our day to day work. It is definitely something we would like our customers to be aware of, but we don’t shout about it.

We interact with customers and clients with various interests and from diverse backgrounds, as we currently run a professional coffee academy, retail outlets, a roastery that provides coffee for wholesale clients and we sell coffee products. At least 50% of our customers do not know we are a social business until we tell them.

Being a social business may attract conscious consumers. However, I would like to believe that the quality of products and services that we provide are of a high standard and this attracts people to us too, despite the fact that we are a social enterprise.