SUSS Gerontology alumnus, Mr Michael Lim, with the Venture Building Programme Award presented to him by Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing.
In 2020, encouraged by Dr Carol Ma, head of Gerontology at SUSS, alumnus Mr Michael Lim participated in the Venture Building Programme which is part of the enhanced Startup SG Founder scheme run by Enterprise Singapore. Mr Lim came up with the idea to build a platform to address the rising need for soft food for an ageing population in Singapore. His ecosystem technology online platform, Konnect, will enlist recipe contributors, advocacy groups and food producers to work in this space to supply soft food to the elderly.
This innovative business idea saw Mr Lim becoming one of the winners at a February 2021 event by Enterprise Singapore in which 14 teams pitched their ideas.
Mr Lim said: "We can create that right environment for communities to come together to help each other through food creation and sharing." Mr Lim, who is in his 50s, obtained a Master of Gerontology from SUSS in 2017, and subsequently became the chief operating officer of a nursing home. Prior to this, he was a naval officer and a senior director in the logistics industry.
"Food is an important component of quality of life as we age, and Michael has envisioned the needs of soft food for senior citizens and those with disabilities. With the set-up of Konnect, we can build up an eco-system in Singapore and extend it to other parts of Asia to further promote quality of food and life in our later stage," added Dr Ma.
Parties interested to support Mr Lim's work can email SUSS's External Relations Department.