Thomas Ng was a guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Singapore East’s Bi-Weekly Club meeting on 6 October 2021. He spoke about Genashtim and a topic that he holds close to his heart, that is, sustainable employment providence for marginalised communities.

As the Founder and CEO of Genashtim, a B Corp certified, for-profit social enterprise, Thomas believes in reimagining charity and Genashtim is the result of that belief. 60% of Genashtim’s employees are people with disabilities (PWDs). The rest are Middle Eastern refugees, seniors, LGBT, and women from oppressed environments. Genashtim is a serious business, and its people are expected to perform and be thorough professionals – and they do despite the odds.

Genashtim’s self-styled employment approach in employing the “forgotten workforce” is done through a sustainable remote work model. Enabling the marginalised to operate independently via affirmative, long-term, sustainable, scalable efforts is the objective of Genashtim. It’s about empowerment rather than fleeting good doing. The staff of Genashtim are not recipients of donations. They contribute to the economy while elevating their quality of life, living with dignity.

In spite of being PWDs, the people behind Genashtim’s talents were given opportunities to manifest in real time, building the company from the ground up. The company proved its resilience and is finally tasting financial prosperity in the year of the pandemic. This would not be possible if it wasn’t for the dynamism and dedication of the people behind Genashtim, some of whom are paralysed from the neck down.

Breaking the chain of dependency is crucial and giving talent a sustained space to manifest and gain scalable returns is essential. The time is now to revolutionise charity so that the positive effects will last, benefit diverse groups of people, and take on self-growth.

Thomas received a certificate of appreciation from the Rotary Club of Singapore East for his participation as a guest speaker. As Thomas expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to share his insights, the club thanked him, saying that he inspired their young members.