Tech For Good accelerator raises funding to help social entrepreneurs

The Tech For Good co-founders. (From L to R:) Yoav Elgrichi, Kineret Karin, Nir Shimony. Photo credit: Tech For Good.

Tech For Good Singapore, a social tech accelerator that was announced in March, revealed yesterday it has raised a pre-series A round of funding. The amount is undisclosed. The funding comes from prominent Singaporean entrepreneur and investor Peter Tan, who has joined Tech For Good as director and advisor.

Tech For Good wants to prove it can produce sustainable and socially conscious businesses.

Peter Tan is a managing partner at private equity fund manager JP Asia Capital and a board member in organizations like ETPL, the commercialization arm of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and transportation operator SMRT. He is also an advisor in the National University of Singapore B. Tech Program, MIR Investment Management, PolyTechnos European Growth Fund 1, and SolarEdge Technologies.

The funding will be used for operational costs and running the program, and for investing in participating startups, according to co-founder Kineret Karin.

See: Social entrepreneurship accelerator Tech For Good lands in Singapore

Tech For Good Singapore’s inaugural program will start this August with 10 startups. The participants come from Singapore, Indonesia, India, the UK, and more. Some examples include MementoHealth, a wearable tech maker helping seniors with cognitive decline, eBeeCare, an Uber-like platform for healthcare services, and Hapticus, a transportation management service for commuters with special needs.

The accelerator has partnered with several organizations in Singapore to promote social entrepreneurship and prove it can produce sustainable and socially conscious businesses. Current partners include ETPL, venture capital firm Vertex Ventures, and the Microsoft BizSpark support framework.

Tech For Good wants to expand into Southeast Asia with subsequent programs, but specific plans aren’t clear yet. It has been running a program in Israel, where it’s headquartered, for the last two years. “We aim to grow into an educational program that brings a new mindset to entrepreneurs, starting from Singapore as the heart and lighthouse,” Yoav says.

See: New program calls for social entrepreneurs to tackle elder care and mental health