For a long time, we used the word company to describe a business — a word that comes from the Latin com (together) and panis (bread). It meant “sharing bread,” evoking a sense of community and working together. But somewhere along the way, that changed. We began using the word business, which actually comes from the old English word bisignis, meaning anxiety or constant hard work. 

Running an enterprise has shifted from nurturing fellowship to maximizing anxiety through intense labor.

— Bruno Roche, Founder of ONE Society Foundation and the Economics of Mutuality, former Chief Economist, Mars Incorporated.

“It’s not the lack of ability that holds kids back, it’s the lack of opportunity.”
- Danny Kim, Founder, FullArmor Corp & CEO, Quest Institute

“Purpose driven social impact is different… we need to rewrite the brief, reset our start points, and refresh the script. So what’s the big deal? Why do we need to rewrite the brief?”
- Eugene Seow, Board Advisor, NVPC

“So, is the finance industry really redeemable? Is work itself redeemable? The answer must be yes, because we cannot go on the way we have. But what can we do?”

– Samuel Rhee, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Group CIO, Endowus

It was 2022, and I was at a conference in MBS with the subtitle, “Scaling Blended Finance”. Big names, bright lights, bang bang. All that glitters is not gold?

In multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore, we’re comfortable with all faiths, and live together in harmony. That’s a great first step. How do we strengthen these social bonds to move beyond conversations to collaborations, from interactions to engagement? 

At the TBN Asia Conference 2024 in September, there was a plenary session on “Redemptive Philanthropy”. While you may roll your eyes at yet another seemingly new name to describe philanthropy, if you’re a faith-based giver, think about this a little deeper, because which faith doesn’t have a redemption element to it?