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Non-profit startup mentorship program supporting founders and donating meals to those in need.
Key people at Gratitude-Covid Mentor for Hope.
Gratitude-Covid Mentor for Hope, a Singapore-based non-profit mentoring initiative, connects startup founders with prominent venture capitalists and industry leaders for invaluable guidance and support. Evolving into the Mentor for Hope program, it uniquely supports early-stage companies in their development and fundraising efforts while concurrently raising vital funds for community aid. The organization has made a significant commitment to donating 50,000 meals to vulnerable populations, achieved through its impactful fundraising campaigns that unite influential figures from the venture capital and industry leadership sectors. Established as a crucial ground-up effort during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the initiative was founded by Elise Tan Yee Ling, an INSEAD MBA graduate, aiming to leverage the startup ecosystem for broader social impact. Its operations are entirely sustained through generous charitable donations and dedicated fundraising efforts.
Key people at Gratitude-Covid Mentor for Hope.
Gratitude-Covid Mentor for Hope refers to the "Gratitude-COVID mentoring initiative," a non-profit program launched in Singapore during the COVID-19 crisis that evolved into Mentor for Hope. This ground-up initiative connected over 250 mentors from venture capital firms, corporates, and late-stage startups with more than 300 early-stage founders across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, providing weekly one-hour mentoring sessions.[1][2][5][8] In exchange, founders were encouraged to donate at least SGD 50 to charities like Beyond Social Services and Willing Hearts Soup Kitchen, raising over S$43,000 (equivalent to thousands of meals) plus S$9,000 in matching grants from mid-May to end-June 2020, with 100% of funds going directly to beneficiaries.[3][4][5]
It served struggling startup founders needing guidance amid economic shutdowns while channeling support to vulnerable communities hit by the pandemic, delivering over 500 mentoring hours and gaining press coverage in outlets like Business Times, Straits Times, and e27.[5]
The initiative began in early 2020 when Elise Tan Yee Ling, an INSEAD MBA graduate and former venture firm professional, lost her role due to COVID-19 layoffs in Singapore.[1][2][3][6][8] Drawing from her venture capital background, Tan founded the Gratitude-COVID mentoring initiative as a way to give back—leveraging her network of industry leaders to mentor founders for free while tying sessions to charitable donations.[1][6] It quickly evolved into Mentor for Hope, co-organized by a team including Aparna S., Clinton S., Gwen S., and others from firms like Quest Ventures, Futurelabs Ventures, and Cocoon Capital.[5]
Early traction was rapid: within weeks, it amassed 250+ mentors and 300+ founders, secured Temasek OSCAR grants, and featured participating startups like Aersure, Ageless Bicyclists, and getphix.com, marking a pivotal grassroots response to the startup ecosystem's crisis.[5]
Mentor for Hope rode the COVID-19 wave of startup distress, where venture funding dried up and founders faced isolation, perfectly timed for mid-2020 when Asia's ecosystems (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia) grappled with lockdowns and layoffs.[1][5] It addressed market forces like reduced mentorship access and heightened social needs, influencing the ecosystem by normalizing philanthropic mentoring—inspiring similar initiatives and strengthening ties between VCs, corporates, and founders.[5]
By sustaining 300+ startups and aiding charities, it amplified resilience in Southeast Asia's tech scene, a region pivotal for post-pandemic recovery with its digital economy boom, while humanizing VC networks amid economic inequality.[2][4]
Post-2020, Mentor for Hope shifted to partnerships with organizations for sustained mentoring, potentially expanding amid enduring startup challenges like funding winters and AI disruptions.[5] Trends like hybrid social-impact investing and regional founder networks will shape it, evolving its influence from crisis responder to permanent ecosystem pillar—perhaps scaling globally via platforms like Gratitude Network.[5][7] This gratitude-fueled model exemplifies how adversity birthed enduring hope, tying back to its origins in giving amid loss.
