SG Assist Ltd carries the founding mission of the ecosystem — the community, the caregivers, and the kampong spirit that started it all in 2017.
In 2017, a small group of caregivers had an idea that most were not ready to believe in. They were not policymakers or funders — they were people already stretched thin, caring for their own loved ones while watching others around them struggle without support. They saw what the system could not yet see: that caregivers were not just a support resource for others. They were a beneficiary group in their own right, largely invisible, carrying an invisible weight.
They tried to fundraise. No one was ready to back them. So they pooled their life savings, invested their time, and made a bet — that mutual aid, rooted in the kampong spirit of neighbours helping neighbours, could become a real and lasting solution.
By December 2018, after months of near-giving-up, they took one more step. Supported by allies, family, and friends who believed in them enough to give them a final push, they incorporated SG Assist as a social enterprise. One month before Singapore went into COVID-19 lockdown, they launched their first mobile app.
What followed was not a plan. It was a response — disciplined, human, and relentless. When COVID hit, SG Assist's volunteer network became a lifeline. Over 6,000 volunteers mobilised across the app, running food and grocery errands, checking in on seniors, collecting ART kits, and doing what neighbours once did for each other naturally. The kampong spirit, now digital.
When the formal system lagged, SG Assist stepped in again — setting up one of the few community-focused call centres before the government's Home Recovery Programme was in place. That call centre became CareConnect: a 24/7 operation specialising in care and emergency response, staffed deliberately by persons with disabilities, caregivers, and stroke survivors.
As trust grew, so did the scope of what partners asked SG Assist to help design. The team co-created programmes with SSAs and Active Ageing Centres: senior empowerment initiatives, care agent programmes, the Age+ Living Lab, GeronTech Ambassador programmes, caregiving navigator tools, and digital storyteller projects. They launched a Training Academy focused on senior volunteerism, SSA capability development, and bringing thought leadership on Theory of Change and the ABCD model into a sector that rarely had access to it.
Certificate of Appreciation personally signed by President Halimah Yacob, recognising SG Assist's selfless COVID-19 efforts.
Story featured in the "Share the Moment" artwork series, projected at ArtScience Museum, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, and the Merlion.
Conferred on Greg Tan Tze Kai (Co-Founder and CEO), Adrian Tan (Co-Founder), and the initial team of volunteer leads.
Conferred Champion of Good 2025 by Minister Ong Ye Kung; Finalist, PVPA Organisation of Good Award.
Leading Social Enterprise status held continuously.
SG Assist grew into something the founding team always hoped it could become — but the structure it started with was never designed for the scale it now operates at. One entity could no longer hold a volunteer movement and a professional consultancy, a training academy and a 24/7 call centre, at once — without confusing who it is and who it serves. This is not a departure. It is a clarification.
The non-profit heart of the ecosystem. A Company Limited by Guarantee that exists to serve the community, not to generate revenue. It carries the founding story, the volunteer movement, and the Caregiver Resource Centre.
See Our ProgrammesThe professional and commercial arm. A social enterprise delivering consultancy, operating CareConnect, and running The Purpose Academy for the wider sector.
Visit careinstitute.sg