Are you a citizen, entrepreneur, newcomer, or organization looking to transform society starting with your city or company? Say hello to SINGA, a citizen movement aiming to build bridges between newcomers and their host communities. Supported by FAIRE, SINGA shows the signs of a high-potential social, professional and entrepreneurial movement.
SINGA has one simple belief: that everyone has enormous potential and talent just waiting to be revealed. Migrants and refugees can culturally enrich societies, as long as they are included and valued. SINGA designs tools for everyone, newcomers and locals alike, to be able to develop their projects. In July this year, FAIRE recently took part in the closing jury for the most recent class of SINGA’s accelerator programme.
Three hubs to inform, interact and innovate
Open a door to change your life and someone else’s through CALM – ‘Comme à la Maison’
Yasin, a refugee entrepreneur and co-founder of the Réseau des Exilés de France, explains that finding accommodation is difficult for newcomers. SINGA is an innovation lab constantly seeking new solutions to inclusion, and in 2017 created CALM, a program where refugees and locals are matched through an online platform based on common professional aspirations and experiences. By matching housemates based on their career objectives and general interest, SINGA goes beyond simply offering housing, and brings together people who create lasting friendships and accelerate professional inclusion. For periods lasting from a few days up to a year, over 1,000 housing matches have already been made.
Join a community of ‘buddies’ and be a part of a united, connected network across the globe
SINGA’s mission is to design opportunities, spaces and tools to create connections between locals and newcomers. The first step towards social inclusion is sharing what you love with someone new, someone you wouldn’t have met otherwise. Launched in 2019, singa.io is the new social network that puts locals in touch with newcomers through exciting events, parties, cultural activities and more in the 20 cities with SINGA chapters worldwide.
SINGA for entrepreneurs, an entrepreneurial hub for inclusive projects
SINGA’s DNA is based in entrepreneurship. The best way to showcase the social and economic wealth brought by newcomers is to showcase the amazing potential of migration-led innovation. Through innovation labs, incubators, and accelerators in 8 different cities, SINGA supports both entrepreneurs with refugee or migrant backgrounds as well locals with projects aiming to have a positive impact on inclusion. Every step of the way, from ideation to scaling, SINGA offers one-on-one guidance, design thinking workshops, and most importantly networks and access to expertise. In France, entrepreneurial programs are available in Paris and Lyon and are under development in Nantes and Grenoble. Since 2016, SINGA has been building a dynamic community of diverse entrepreneurs. Their names are Ousmane, Ghaees, Ruba and Bonney, and they are each leading a meaningful project: digital solutions to literacy, recycling, Syrian foodtrucks, protective armbands for people on dialysis, and more.
SINGA is a global movement with new chapters being created everyday, united by values, the singa.io online plateforme, migration-led innovation, and open source tools under the SINGA brand. Decision-making processes at SINGA are representative of what the organization stands for: horizontal, collective, human-centered and impact-driven.
SINGA strives to build a society made richer by its diversity where everyone, whatever their background, can achieve their full potential.