SINGA

COVID-19 is not only a system shock but also one of the first truly global crisis’. For the first time, everyone is equally affected.

Even though people can’t wait to get back to “normal”, the next crisis will be waiting for us - climate change, inequality, political instability - you name it.

We need to come together as WoMankind and drive innovation that goes beyond silicon valley, ivy schools & urban elites...

The current level of inequality and barriers to economic opportunity are crippling our society not only, but especially in times of crisis.

What if we break those barriers? 

What if we find a way to democratize innovation?

What if we told you there is a way to exponentially grow ideation, innovation & incubation?

SINGA together with its partners in the private and public sector developed a new model for borderless collaboration and innovation.

SINGA foresees the empowerment of migrant and refugee entrepreneurs who wish to create businesses, organisations and cultural or artistic projects by connecting them with relevant people and organisations globally, for these to be able to drive a positive social change within their local communities. This innovative change drive will enable socio-economic transformation on a local, regional and global level. 

This initiative aims to create a network of positive change-makers from all spectrums of society: including youth, migrants, corporate sector, academia and international fora, by combining various social and economical backgrounds and facilitating their experience, skills and exchange of ideas and solutions.

Facing COVID-19, SINGA made a pledge to empower and enable its unique community via a digital platform to drive the change they want to see in the world by:

Identifying the underlying challenges

What are the real causes of inequality and daily barriers to economic opportunity? Instead of taking a top-down approach, we let our communities decide which challenges to tackle heads on.

Bridging the gaps

Gen Z, Millennials, Gen x, Boomers, and beyond. White-collar & Blue-collar. North, East, South, and West. We match innovators like never before.

Sparking innovation from people for people

Our community will develop solutions benefiting themselves and their peers. 

Letting the people be the judge

Proposed solutions will be vetted by the community and business experts for feasibility and relevancy.

Building partnerships that matter for the SDGs

The UN Sustainable Development goals will be our framework to frame challenges and solutions and embed our initiative into a broader global effort.

Enabling access to a global community

Our Innovators will benefit from access to a vast network of partners and thought leaders across the entire spectrum of business consulting. 

Working towards a common goal

The Singa Hackademy will drive 500 new ventures until 2021. 

SINGA aims at supporting those who, through innovation, information sharing, social inclusion and empowerment, can positively impact local and regional communities. Target direct beneficiaries of the project are two fold: from one side we want to engage the proactive members of SINGA, passionate to make a positive impact within their communities, and on the other hand we want to engage the network of professionals who are willing to team up their expertise together with the rest of the network.

Innovation is not inclusive today. It comes from the same circles and repeats the same worlds (the richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest families today). 

We found a way to unlock more innovation. Especially with innovators who moved on the earth. Innovators who have through difficult times and still want to contribute. Refugees and migrants.  

We believe SINGA can bring essential ideas for more resilient, inclusive and creative societies because its innovation comes from bridges in humanity: making newcomers and locals with different backgrounds work hand in hand for our common ground.

First, we used a platform, an algorithm, data modeling and analysis as well as social networks elements in the migration field where institutions and NGOs usually use a showcase site for donors, volunteers and medias. We added a customer-driven approach (what people are looking for) to the impact-driven approach (what people need). It changed the entire user experience and opened the door for new interactions, peer-to-peer, between newcomers and locals.

Second, we created a disruptive data model of migration. In our architecture, we intentionally ignored traditional data (like legal status or nationality) to focus our user experience (common interests, cultural skills, dreams for the future).  

SINGA is a desktop and mobile platform, soon to be a native mobile app on both ios and android. It's an event platform offering a customize experience for user based on their location, interests and projects. During Covid-19, we added a call center for people to be able to meet on the phone. The core technology of our platform is the database with elements of machine learning. We are constantly trying to improve the suggestion engine. Last but not least, we gamified the user journey. 

It works ! We count 30 000 users of our tools worldwide. They speak more than 150 different languages. They are both women and men (52%-48%), newcomers and locals (40-60%). They are refugees, migrants and locals in 10 different countries. Before Covid-19, we counted 70 events a month by city (500 events total). Today, it's around 20 online events globally but growing. In the meantime, our call center is a very successful alternative to events with 100 new subscribers a week. People who would have never meet in other circumstances meet together, learn from each other and create our common future thanks to our technologies. We even have 1000 people who found a place to stay during 3-12 months period, and 42% of them found a job thanks to our host communities. 

It's very simple. Today, newcomers and locals don't meet. They are facing in each other for legal questions or help but they don't engage as peers. They are missing spaces and tools to meet, learn from each other, fusion ideas and create Commons. At SINGA, we believe that when people meet in the right conditions, that they experience migration instead of watching migration on television, they change their discourse and behavior. We have already seen the results of this method: 30 000 people have shared good moments together, 317 entrepreneurs have created an association or a company powered by migration, 3500 people have lived together in one home for 3-12 months generating access to independent housing, jobs and university. We have proof (studies) that it is cheaper than traditional hospitality, that it is more impactful and that it generates more economic value. We have pushed migration beyond inclusion. It's called interaction! 

Today, it serves 30 000 citizens and 300 entrepreneurs

In one year, it will serve 100 000 citizens and 1000 entrepreneurs

In five years, it will serve 1 000 000 citizens and 5000 entrepreneurs

Next year, we want to have a mobile app to impact 100 000 users

In five years, we want to have a fully functional community, academia and marketplace for 1 000 000 users 

We count legal barriers for a good number of our users who are stuck in administrative procedures for months, sometimes years. We can create the best user journey ever, they won't feel like they belong to a community and won't be in the best conditions to contribute. 

We count financial barriers to scale up tech for good via a non profit organization. We are not getting enough support from our donors who are not used to this type of project. We would need to invest 2-3 million euros. Today, we raised 10% of that. 

Both legal and financial barriers can be overcome via our community. We believe we can rewrite the Refugee Convention and local laws with community members, all over the world, like Mexico did with its constitution, to suggest new rules, new process. We believe regulations evolve with public stories. It changes when public perception evolves. And the best way to achieve it is not to political discourse first, it is life experience for millions of people. Then it is movies, books, theatre pieces and media coverage. And only then, after a decade, it becomes public discourse because people are ready. So we continue to do what we do best, we connect people in the right conditions. 

6 people: 

1 product owner 

2 fullstack developers

1 business developer

2 community managers 

It's a diverse team. Where most tech solutions are biased because creators are all from the same social background or country, we have a team with various life experiences, nationalities and skills. 

Our tech team is fully integrated in the general team. They work in the same offices and have great connexions with staff in our incubators for entrepreneurs and community activators. So they understand well their problems and expectations. 

Our tech teams benefits from the full support of the biggest "innovation powered by migration" community in the world. It works with the best companies in the world to achieve its goals like Microsoft on ai, Accenture on machine learning, bayes impact on data modeling...

For the acquisition of users, we work with cities like Mairie de Paris, major companies like SNCF and leader NGOs like Emmaüs. We also partner with startups we support in our incubators such as Konexio or Meet my mama.

On the tech side, we have benefited from the support of Telecom ParisTech, Share it (Station F and Ashoka), Intech, Accenture, Microsoft or Bayes Impact. 

On the legal side, we have the support of Gide, considered one of the best law firm in France. 

Our business model is BtoB. We give access to a diverse and vibrant community if you respect our charter of values and for a prize.

Event sponsoring for organizations. 

Commission fees on the marketplace.

Consulting hours from our "design community" team. 

We believe SOLVE can give visibility to our solution at a global level. We are looking for like-minded partners who understand the heavy investment that tech represents but also the great opportunity for social impact it represents. We hope to find financial and impact partners via the SOLVE challenge and vibrant ecosystem. We think it's unique network of Universities, companies, NGOs and social entreprises who take on the most important challenges for humanity together. SOLVE is the future. 

SINGA is impact-driven (one of the best intercultural solution in the world - says the UN, the EU, Obama, Aga Khan, Forbes...) but we know solutions scale when they are customer-driven. That's why marketing and service delivery are priorities for us. We want less conversation and a little more action. We are looking for the right partners in these fields. 

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation to build one of the greatest AI solution for humanity ever. 

General motors to imagine new inclusive mobility solutions. 

Vodafone to extend our call center (https://www.allomondo.org/) to new countries. 

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to implement SINGA in Portugal where we have a strong network but did not find the right partner yet. 

SINGA's community and incubators empower refugees who are perceived as friends, innovators, coworkers, lovers of football or cricket, entrepreneurs. We unlock their potential, reveal their talents. They offer ideas, intelligence, solidarity and innovations to their new society. Each year, approximately 75% of our 300 entrepreneurs are from refugee or migrant background. We believe migration generates innovation. It creates companies, changes industries, offers thousands of jobs for both newcomers and locals. 

Our incubators in 5 countries support 300 underserved entrepreneurs, including refugees, each year. Thanks to our 1 year support, they successfully disrupt industries, create bridges between countries and generate employment for hundred of people. SINGA is one of the most effective solutions for inclusive entrepreneurship in the world as the UN, the EU, the French and German States, the Aga Khan and the Obama foundations recognize it. We are looking for a partner like GM to scale it. 

SINGA is considered one the 10 best AI solutions for good in France by Microsoft. We have created a unique data model and algorithm with Accenture to match immigrant and local citizens in their common cities. AI helps us identify common grounds for bonding and bridging experiences. Multiplying them is creating social cohesion in 10 countries around the globe. We would like to work with Patrick J. McGovern Foundation to improve the suggestion engine and deploy the solution globally.