Mayor's Imagine Social Entrepreneurship Challenge (MISE) 2008

The Mayor's Imagine Social Entrepreneurship Challenge (MISE) 2008 was designed to help acquaint youth with the local social entrepreneurship scene and to challenge them to come up with a feasible business plan to help voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) to set up sustainable social enterprises to aid their causes.




More than 200 students from JCs, Polytechnics, ITEs and Universities from 50 teams submitted their executive summaries for their idea.

20 teams were specially selected to go through the Business Plan Workshop by Youth Enterprise Academy. 10 teams would be shortlisted in this round where they would again compete for their projects to be funded by the Mayor's Imagine Fund (MIF).



On Day 1, students learnt about the local social entrepreneurship climate as well as the various legal forms that a social enterprise. They also learnt about business plan essentials in an intensive module and also learnt the importance of being able to market their plan well.

In between Day 1 & Day 2 of the Business Plan Workshop, students signed up for mentoring sessions led by trainers to help them fine-tune and iron out hiccups in their business plan. Given the strict judging criteria, it was not surprising that a large number of students were feeling stressed (it was written all over their faces!) to come up with a solid, feasible and credible business plan to show the judges during Day 2 of the programme.

On Day 2, concurrent sessions of Smart Money board game programmes was run while the judging was going on.



While the students may look relaxed in the above picture, I could tell that their mind was on the judging that was going on in the other room. If it was me, I'll be nervous too!

The MISE Challenge 2008 is a great platform to help students to learn about VWOs and to help think of business ideas to help VWOs create self-running, sustainable social enterprises (thus adding an added avenue of much-needed funds to advance their causes and help their beneficiaries). I felt greatly encouraged by the compassion of the youths to raise up to the challenge and test their mettle (and business ideas!).

To the teams who didn't make it, keep that passion burning! Social entrepreneurship do not begin nor end with MISE 2008. You decide whether or not to make a difference and when to call it quits!

And to the finalist teams, all the best!

For the latest updates on the MISE 2008, watch this space!