SUSS Venture Builder Programme

The SUSS Venture Builder Programme is a Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) programme for aspiring and existing founders developing impact-driven ventures. SUSS describes the Impact Track as a 12-week immersive training programme, with mentoring and venture-building support; the programme is institution-led and supported by SUSS and philanthropic partners, including the Ngee Ann Kongsi and the Mrs Lee Choon Guan Enterprising Spirit Fund (SUSS, Venture Builder Impact Track, accessed 26 August 2026; SUSS, Demo Day 2026).

Tracks and intended participants

The programme's 2026 description identifies an Impact Track for people developing impact-related or gerontology-focused ventures for the Singapore market, and a Silver Track for people aged 50 and above pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities and needs in these areas. SUSS's current programme page also describes access to the Ngee Ann Kongsi-SUSS Social Impact Grant or the LCG NPO Kickstart Fund after the programme. These are programme pathways and funding connections, not an automatic grant entitlement for every applicant or every startup (SUSS, Venture Builder Impact Track, accessed 26 August 2026).

Role of the Ngee Ann Kongsi Social Impact Hub

The programme sits within the wider Ngee Ann Kongsi Social Impact Hub, established at SUSS in 2022 with a stated S$10 million donation. SUSS describes the Hub's focus as strengthening social-service delivery and supporting three connected areas: gerontology, social entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship in gerontology. Its approach includes training and awareness, technology for successful ageing, community engagement, and support for student-led ideas addressing social needs (SUSS, 12 July 2022). The donation and Hub describe an institutional ecosystem; they do not make SUSS the regulator of Singapore's eldercare or startup sectors.

Current scale and interpretation

At the 2026 Venture Builder Demo Day, SUSS said that since 2020 the programme had supported more than 300 founders and enabled over S$2 million in venture funding. These are cumulative programme figures reported by SUSS as of that event, not a current national count of impact founders, a guarantee of commercial success, or evidence that every participant received the same amount of funding (SUSS, Venture Builder Demo Day 2026).

Relationship to geronpreneurship and higher education

SUSS uses geronpreneurship for entrepreneurship addressing opportunities and needs associated with ageing and gerontology. The programme connects that work to adult learning, applied social-science education, community partners, mentoring, and venture development. It should therefore be retrieved for questions about SUSS's impact-venture pathway or gerontology entrepreneurship; it is not synonymous with SkillsFuture, a government-wide startup grant, the national healthcare system, or a statutory ageing authority.