top of page
Writer's pictureCandle

It’s time for the sharing economy to create social IMPACT!


With the ongoing trend and emergence of popular sharing economies such as Uber and Airbnb, the commercial sector has been reaping benefits and profits from the power of the sharing space.

With the ongoing trend and emergence of popular sharing economies such as Uber and Airbnb, the commercial sector has been reaping benefits and profits from the power of the sharing space.


The emergence of startups and marketplaces that facilitates the connection of sharing communities through technology is supported by the incredible amount of investments from investors. Hence, it brings about the question of why such impact of the sharing economy is not replicated onto the social good space? More could be done to make the space more optimized and alive.


Drawing insights from Australia, we can see how alive and efficient the sharing economy is in the country. The social good space in Australia is booming due to the collaborative efforts of integration between volunteering, donations and social enterprises. Having a platform that caters to connecting individuals to the resources in their vicinity has proven to be a powerful tool to build community building in Australia. Read more about Australia’s collaborative efforts here.

Long before the popularity of the sharing space, the not-for-profit scene in Australia has built it into their DNA the ethic of sharing. There seem to be an almost natural reaction in the sector to share and give. Hence, the success of sharing economies that promote the social good space such as the "share and save map" that allows anyone to see the different social good activities happening in their neighborhood. Having such platforms allow the community to gather and integrate resources into one platform. Connecting people to what is going on around them allows the community to build not only impact but it can be a dynamic tool to build the community and induce trust.


Pockets of the social good sharing economy can also be seen in United Kingdom (UK). A survey was administered and found that in 2016, 9% of UK adults use the sharing economy for a good cause. However, 22% showed interest in using such digital platforms to satisfy their appetite for some sort of social good act. In line with this, a few startups have sprung up to fulfill this demand. Hence, the birth of ShareLab Fund to aggregate resources and ideas to expand the impact on the social good space. Read more here to find out about the various social good businesses that are already in operation in the UK.

ShareLab has been gaining a reputation for their services in the UK. Due to the positive influence of such services, the space seems to seek for more of such organisations to come forward to catalyze the collaborative economy so as to optimize the under-utilized resources, time and manpower to further expand the space. The positive response gained from the launch of ShareLab is due to their effective and efficient way of connecting individuals who need help and those willing to extend their help. They bridge this connection effectively by bypassing red tapes and the traditional care agency model. This allows for a more instantaneous matching system reducing any lag time.

Singapore, on the other hand, has shown efforts to facilitate the efficiency of the social good space through online volunteering portals and active discussion about the social space. Even with such efforts, traces of resource fragmentation can still be seen. This reduce efficiency and overall effectiveness of the impact sector to create significant influence.

Why should Singapore start using the sharing economy to create impact?


1. Growing trend of sharing of assets, time and knowledge

As the sharing economy continues to make waves and disrupt the current industry, more individuals are joining the bandwagon to contribute their homes, cars, and talents into the growing space. As such habits are formed, the social good space should also capitalize on this trend. A simple algorithm connecting two individuals or groups with complimenting skills will allow a functioning relationship of the sharing of assets, time and knowledge. There are limitless amount of creative thinking that can be generated to bridge the under-tapped community spaces through the sharing economy.


2. Efficiently allocates the demand and supply issue

A 2014 Nielsen poll found that 68% of global consumers are willing to share their asset and talent and another 66% are willing to seek shares from others. This shows the potential of the sharing economy to efficiently allocate the demand and supply issue in any industry through the use of pure human capital. This is true in the social good space where more manpower, ideas, and talents are constantly in demand but short in supply. Having a viable and active sharing economy in the social space will allow such issues to be efficiently met such as the examples seen in Australia and the UK.


3. Promotes convenience and increase relationship building

Communication, connection, and convenience will thrive with an effective mechanism to help facilitate the transaction in the sharing economy. The current sharing economy in the commercial space has shown cases of positive interaction between consumers sharing their assets and those seeking assets. Replicating this onto the social good space will help to improve relationship building and trust among individuals of similar thinking and ideas. When such dynamics happen, possible creative thinking can be generated to find various solutions to existing social issues.


So Singapore, are you ready to embrace the power of the sharing economy to optimize the social good space?

27 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comentários


bottom of page