The Crossing the Chasm Final 2016, held on 16 September, was the culmination of hard work on the part of the participants and organisers.
The final saw five finalists, namely Team iChange, Team Social Innovators, Team The Glass Half Full, Team BMY, and Team Krakakoa, present their marketing plans for their respective social enterprises. Each team was given 15 minutes to impress the judges and the audience. All of the teams gave astounding presentations that reflected the depth of their thoughts and the countless reiterations that the challenge entailed. The impressive work put up by all the teams made it especially difficult for the judges to decide the winners.
As the judges deliberated over their decisions, the audience was treated to an insightful sharing by Mrs Dinny Jusuf, founder of Toraja Melo, on the ups and downs of running a social enterprise. Mrs Dinny reminded us that social entrepreneurship may not be for everyone, but all can certainly generate ripples of change in their own way.
Following Mrs Dinny’s sharing, Associate Prof Albert Teo, director of the Chua Thian Poh Leadership Programme, took to the stage with a single but important message – that empathy is indispensable in our effort to generate change. Associate Prof Teo’s message prompted us to reflect on our life values and their indelible impact on others.
Following an inspiring sharing session, the judges were invited to announce the winners of the 2016 Challenge. Team iChange emerged the champion, earning its partnering social enterprise SDI Academy and the team S$30,000 and S$12,000 in prize money respectively. Team Krakakoa was the people’s choice awardee and the runner-up, benefitting their partnering social enterprise Krakakoa and the team S$22,500 and S$10,500 respectively. All prizes were the generous donations of the Tanoto Foundation and would go a long way towards extending the social impact of the winning enterprises.
As Crossing the Chasm Final came to a close, a general sense of optimism filled the air. It was very heartening to witness the passion shared by our future business leaders in effecting positive social change. It gave us immense hope for the future and, most importantly, it caused us to reflect on what else could be done to leave the world a better place.