OUR PARTNERS

UP SINGAPORE

A ground-up innovation platform which makes creative use of technology and data to improve the urban environment, UP Singapore intrinsically believes that ‘doing good is good business’, an ethos that is strongly reflected in its partnership with the Arthur Guinness Fund™ which launched in Singapore in 2012.

Guinness Singapore, in partnership with UP Singapore, shortlisted its first Singaporean beneficiary in November 2012 - the Bettr Barista Coffee Academy, a social enterprise centered on arming disadvantaged and underprivileged women with the skills and tools to improve their lives.

Through a series of brainstorms and a three day Hackathon managed by Guinness and UP Singapore, around 200 passionate, like-minded people from all walks of life collaborated to develop prototypes to grow the businesses of existing social enterprises like Bettr Barista.

Visit the Up Singapore website

ASHOKA

Ashoka is a global association that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs.

Since 1981, they have elected over 2,000 leading social entrepreneurs as Ashoka Fellows, providing them with living stipends, professional support and access to a global network of peers in more than 60 countries.

In September 2010, The Arthur Guinness Fund announced a global, three-year partnership with Ashoka by investing €3 million in the organisation over a period of three years. These funds will help support new social entrepreneurial projects around the world, in continued celebration of the philanthropic legacy of founder Arthur Guinness.

This partnership further demonstrates how The Arthur Guinness Fund is fully committed to identifying and supporting social entrepreneurs globally with the skills and support required to deliver measurable and transformational change to communities around the world.

Visit the Ashoka website

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS IRELAND

The Arthur Guinness Fund has worked in partnership with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland since June 2010. Social Entrepreneurs Ireland believes that innovative solutions to societal problems in Ireland will be driven by passionate individuals who adopt an entrepreneurial approach to bringing about change. Social Entrepreneurs Ireland helps these individuals to scale the impact of their work by providing significant funding alongside in-depth technical and practical support.

Across the 20 organisations that The Arthur Guinness Fund works with in Ireland, there are currently 72 full time employees, 129 part time employees, 24 full time volunteers and 1,368 part time volunteers. We have delivered nine group workshops since July 2010 on topics including marketing, sales, social media, media training, personal development, insights, situational leadership and finance.

18 Diageo employees (outside of the regular Arthur Guinness Fund project team) have delivered workshops and mentored our Irish awardees on a one-to-one basis. 85% of the social entrepreneurs we work with in Ireland have rated the level of overall support they receive from The Arthur Guinness Fund team as excellent.

Visit the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland website

VIRGIN UNITE

Virgin Unite is the non-profit foundation of Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Their aim is to help revolutionise the way businesses and the social sector work together, uniting people to tackle tough social and environmental problems in an entrepreneurial way. In September 2011, The Arthur Guinness Fund supported the opening of Virgin Unite's new Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This new facility, committed to inspiring and growing social entrepreneurship across the region, has already welcomed its first intake of 14 aspiring young entrepreneurs, selected from hundreds of applicants, to participate in a series of practical coaching and mentoring foundation courses.

Visit the Virgin Unite website

BRITISH COUNCIL INDONESIA

In Indonesia, The Arthur Guinness Fund has been working in partnership with the British Council Indonesia for two years already to conduct the Community Entrepreneurs Challenge which aims to identify and incentivise social entrepreneurs with the skills and support required to deliver measurable, transformational change to communities around the world: Doing good business by doing good.

Visit the British Council website