Social Impact Enterprise Kind Citizen Set to transform pandemic aids and the grey zones

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 15 November 2021 -
In line with World Kindness Day, social impact enterprise,
Kind
Citizen, officially launches its marketplace platform that provides
an avenue for contributors to pay it forward with holistic and essential gifts
to a broader range of beneficiaries with its wide range of merchant partners in
Asia.

Built in alignment with the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
17, the tech-for-good enterprise is the result of two years of
development and establishing partnerships with community groups, government and
merchants, integrating them into a single platform to deliver lasting social
impact.

The platform is a first-of-its-kind social impact marketplace rooted in
the concept of paying it forward with holistic gifts beyond the basic needs,
including essential lifestyle services, for beneficiaries at a time that is
most needed for the individual. The platform aims to be all-inclusive by having
a broader range of beneficiaries than the usual charity, such as frontline
workers, mental health support staff, caregiver supporters, special needs
individuals, single parents and ex-offenders. The platform hopes to be able to
comprehensively support social inclusion, and motivate people to live well
again in a timely way.

How Kind Citizen Platform Works

Already boasting a strong line up of community partners and retail
merchants including Singtel, ComfortDelGro, Ez-link, Grab, merchants can list
their food, lifestyle and essential items on the platform for contributors to
purchase and pay it forward. Following which, community partners perform due
diligence, managing the beneficiaries directly and according to the support
they need.

Users can select the contributions they wish to make from their
favourite merchants, or based on the top needed list on the marketplace app.
They can then complete their orders similar to how they would any other
e-commerce site, in addition to leaving their personalised kindness message.
Subsequently, they will be notified when their Kind contribution is received.

Through its platform, Kind Citizen enables anyone to extend help in an
easy, practical and transparent manner, and to demonstrate kindness to the
invisible struggles of others. By providing accessible and timely help to often
unseen groups of people (such as caregivers of elderly), Kind Citizen
facilitates greater social inclusion to those who may have fallen through the
cracks, especially in tough times during the pandemic.

To ensure transparency and the appropriate allocation of resources,
Kind Citizen works with community partners including grassroots community
development, local social enterprises, non-profit organisations, social service
agencies and ground-up community projects. Through the consolidated efforts,
any wastage or mismatch of resources is minimised, ensuring that contributions
are well handled and accessible to beneficiaries who need them the most.

Kind Citizen is supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s
(IMDA) Our Singapore Fund for Digital Readiness, and is also affiliated with a
number of notable partners, including Singapore Management University’s
Business Innovations Generator, its startup incubator. In addition, Kind
Citizen is backed by venture capital firm, Quest Ventures, which focuses on
digital commerce in early-stage marketplaces.

Mr Jackson Chia, CEO of ComfortDelGro Private
Mobility Group, said: “ComfortDelGro is happy to be able to participate in
Kind Citizen’s pay-it-forward initiative and we hope that point-to-point
transport will be made easier for all who are in need, whether it is for their
medical appointments or social outings.”

On partnering with Kind Citizen, Mr Nicholas Lee, CEO at EZ-Link, said:
“EZ-Link is delighted to partner Kind Citizen to power the growth of social
giving in Singapore. At EZ-Link, we strongly believe in building an inclusive
society. Our EZ-Link Wallet credits enable consumers to make purchases
conveniently for meals at hawker centres or make top-ups to their EZ-Link cards
for their daily transport needs.”

Leading up to its timely launch this World Kindness Day, Kind Citizen,
started by Founder and CEO, Bernice Tan, has been in the works for two years.
The platform was developed closely alongside the UN’s SDG 17 goals, combining
the need for strong partnerships between multiple stakeholders to aid in
sustainable development, with the concept of paying it forward. Having been the
beneficiary herself of generous contributors, Ms Tan aims to drive social
impact with the use of technology through Kind Citizen’s digital channel.

Sharing her insights into the
launch of Kind Citizen, Ms Tan said: “I believe that the spirit of helpfulness
and unity has always been evident in Singaporeans. Kind Citizen aims to enhance
the way Singaporeans can do holistic giving by providing the flexibility on a
transparent platform that connects merchants, community groups and
contributors. It is my hope that this will help people to see the good in
everyone and provide companies with practical ways to advance their social
responsibilities.” 

Alongside the aforementioned partners, Kind Citizen has more than 100
merchants on its platform to date, including Flash Coffee, Love Bonito, Huggs
Coffee and Swensens, to aid a pool of over 3000 beneficiaries.