Latest news with #KarenNgui
Business Standard
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Hyderabad-Based Life Circle Receives the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award for Advancing Eldercare in India
BusinessWire India Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 19: Life Circle Health Services, a Hyderabad-based social enterprise, has been named one of four global winners of the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award 2024. Launched last year, the award aims to supercharge impactful businesses that are addressing urgent needs in ageing societies. As part of the recognition, Life Circle will receive SGD 500,000 (~INR 3 crore) in grant funding, along with access to DBS Foundation's broader ecosystem of support -- including expert mentorship, capacity building, and partnership/networking opportunities. It is one of four enterprises collectively awarded SGD 3 million (~INR 20 crore) by DBS Foundation. In addition to the funding, winners receive ongoing support from the bank to drive their next phase of growth, including new product development, operational scaling, and capacity building. The DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award builds on the DBS Foundation's longstanding efforts to nurture innovative, purpose-driven businesses that create positive societal impact. It also underscores the Foundation's commitment to uplifting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities across Asia and shaping a more inclusive future. With demographic changes such as ageing populations affecting many parts of the world today, DBS Foundation is committed to empowering seniors to age well -- with dignity and joy -- ensuring they remain healthy, connected, and able to contribute meaningfully to society. According to the India Ageing Report 2023 by UNFPA, India's elderly population is projected to exceed approximately 20% by 2050. As this demographic shift accelerates, the need for affordable, accessible, and professional eldercare services is becoming increasingly urgent. Life Circle is addressing this gap through a tech-enabled marketplace that connects trained caregivers with families based on individual health and personal care needs. It is India's only full-stack eldercare company, combining training, certification, placement, and managed home care under one brand. Life Circle's hybrid (phygital) model -- which includes a mobile app, caregiver training, and quality checks -- helps improve the overall quality of home-based eldercare in India. With this award, it will expand to Tier 2 and 3 cities that are seeing heightened demand, launch new training academies, roll out digital learning tools, and upgrade its technology to better manage onboarding and quality assurance for caregivers. Karen Ngui, Head of DBS Foundation and DBS Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, said, "Societies are ageing rapidly, and it is sobering to see that we're living in a world where there are more people over 60 years of age than under five. We are thus very encouraged to see DBS Foundation's inaugural batch of Impact Beyond Award winners embedding purpose at the core of their business and delivering transformative solutions to meet the urgent needs of ageing societies. In India, a large part of eldercare is delivered by the informal sector -- Life Circle is addressing this critical gap by making eldercare more professional, structured, and accessible, while also creating dignified livelihoods through caregiver training. By supporting enterprises like our Impact Beyond Award winners, we aim to build a future where every individual, at every stage of life, can age with dignity, purpose, and joy." Anant Kumar, CEO, Life Circle Health Services (India), said, "We are deeply honoured to receive the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award. This recognition strengthens our mission to build India's eldercare infrastructure -- one caregiver at a time. With DBS Foundation's support, we will accelerate our efforts to train youth from underserved communities and ensure seniors receive the dignified care they deserve." Life Circle's model not only supports ageing in place but also promotes economic empowerment by skilling and employing rural women as professional caregivers. To date, the enterprise has placed over 5,000 caregivers -- 76% of whom are women -- and conducts more than 100,000 home visits annually. Life Circle was selected from nearly 100 submissions, following a rigorous evaluation process involving senior DBS leaders and independent external experts. The other winners of the 2024 Impact Beyond Award include: * Buddy of Parents (Singapore): AI and IoT-powered smart home solutions that enhance safety, reduce the caregiving burden, and promote independent living. * Huakang Group (China): A leading provider of integrated elderly care, offering a holistic 'home, community, institution' model that connects home-based services with community and institutional support. * Evercare (Hong Kong): A healthtech platform bridging caregiver demand gaps by connecting healthcare professionals with families, hospitals, and private eldercare services. The awards were announced at the recent DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Dialogue in Singapore -- a flagship platform that brings together key voices to exchange insights on pressing societal issues such as ageing, co-create solutions, and unlock opportunities for collective action.
The Wire
19-06-2025
- Business
- The Wire
Hyderabad-Based Life Circle Receives the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award for Advancing Eldercare in India
India – Business Wire India • Receives grant funding of SGD 500,000 (~INR 3 crore); plans to scale tech-enabled eldercare and expand into high-demand Tier 2 and 3 cities • The enterprise was among four winners collectively awarded SGD 3 million (~INR 20 crore); the awards recognised innovators shaping the future of ageing. Life Circle Health Services, a Hyderabad-based social enterprise, has been named one of four global winners of the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award 2024. Launched last year, the award aims to supercharge impactful businesses that are addressing urgent needs in ageing societies. As part of the recognition, Life Circle will receive SGD 500,000 (~INR 3 crore) in grant funding, along with access to DBS Foundation's broader ecosystem of support — including expert mentorship, capacity building, and partnership/networking opportunities. It is one of four enterprises collectively awarded SGD 3 million (~INR 20 crore) by DBS Foundation. In addition to the funding, winners receive ongoing support from the bank to drive their next phase of growth, including new product development, operational scaling, and capacity building. The DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award builds on the DBS Foundation's longstanding efforts to nurture innovative, purpose-driven businesses that create positive societal impact. It also underscores the Foundation's commitment to uplifting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities across Asia and shaping a more inclusive future. With demographic changes such as ageing populations affecting many parts of the world today, DBS Foundation is committed to empowering seniors to age well — with dignity and joy — ensuring they remain healthy, connected, and able to contribute meaningfully to society. According to the India Ageing Report 2023 by UNFPA, India's elderly population is projected to exceed approximately 20% by 2050. As this demographic shift accelerates, the need for affordable, accessible, and professional eldercare services is becoming increasingly urgent. Life Circle is addressing this gap through a tech-enabled marketplace that connects trained caregivers with families based on individual health and personal care needs. It is India's only full-stack eldercare company, combining training, certification, placement, and managed home care under one brand. Life Circle's hybrid (phygital) model — which includes a mobile app, caregiver training, and quality checks — helps improve the overall quality of home-based eldercare in India. With this award, it will expand to Tier 2 and 3 cities that are seeing heightened demand, launch new training academies, roll out digital learning tools, and upgrade its technology to better manage onboarding and quality assurance for caregivers. Karen Ngui, Head of DBS Foundation and DBS Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, said, 'Societies are ageing rapidly, and it is sobering to see that we're living in a world where there are more people over 60 years of age than under five. We are thus very encouraged to see DBS Foundation's inaugural batch of Impact Beyond Award winners embedding purpose at the core of their business and delivering transformative solutions to meet the urgent needs of ageing societies. In India, a large part of eldercare is delivered by the informal sector — Life Circle is addressing this critical gap by making eldercare more professional, structured, and accessible, while also creating dignified livelihoods through caregiver training. By supporting enterprises like our Impact Beyond Award winners, we aim to build a future where every individual, at every stage of life, can age with dignity, purpose, and joy.' Anant Kumar, CEO, Life Circle Health Services (India), said, 'We are deeply honoured to receive the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award. This recognition strengthens our mission to build India's eldercare infrastructure — one caregiver at a time. With DBS Foundation's support, we will accelerate our efforts to train youth from underserved communities and ensure seniors receive the dignified care they deserve.' Life Circle's model not only supports ageing in place but also promotes economic empowerment by skilling and employing rural women as professional caregivers. To date, the enterprise has placed over 5,000 caregivers — 76% of whom are women — and conducts more than 100,000 home visits annually. Life Circle was selected from nearly 100 submissions, following a rigorous evaluation process involving senior DBS leaders and independent external experts. The other winners of the 2024 Impact Beyond Award include: • Buddy of Parents (Singapore): AI and IoT-powered smart home solutions that enhance safety, reduce the caregiving burden, and promote independent living. • Huakang Group (China): A leading provider of integrated elderly care, offering a holistic 'home, community, institution' model that connects home-based services with community and institutional support. • Evercare (Hong Kong): A healthtech platform bridging caregiver demand gaps by connecting healthcare professionals with families, hospitals, and private eldercare services. The awards were announced at the recent DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Dialogue in Singapore — a flagship platform that brings together key voices to exchange insights on pressing societal issues such as ageing, co-create solutions, and unlock opportunities for collective action. For more information on the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award, please visit: About DBS DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the world. In 2025, CRISIL Ratings reaffirmed its 'CRISIL AAA/Stable' rating on the corporate credit facility of DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL). The rating on the certificate of deposits programme was also reaffirmed at 'CRISIL A1 '. Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named 'World's Best Bank' by Global Finance, 'World's Best Bank' by Euromoney and 'Global Bank of the Year' by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named 'World's Best Digital Bank' by Euromoney and the world's 'Most Innovative in Digital Banking' by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the 'Safest Bank in Asia' award by Global Finance for 16 consecutive years from 2009 to 2024. In 2025, DBS Bank India was recognised as the Best Bank for Corporate Banking and Best Bank for Corporate Cash Management in India by CRISIL - Coalition Greenwich. Reinforcing its commitment to responsible banking and business practices, DBS was also named Best Bank for Sustainable Finance – India by Global Finance in 2024 and Best Bank for Diversity & Inclusion – India by Euromoney in 2024. DBS Bank has been present in India for 30 years, opening its first office in Mumbai in 1994. DBS Bank India Limited is the first among the large foreign banks in India to start operating as a wholly owned, locally incorporated subsidiary of a leading global bank. As a trusted partner, DBS provides a range of banking services for large, medium, and small enterprises and individual consumers in India, focusing on a seamless customer experience that helps them 'Live more, Bank less'. In November 2020, Lakshmi Vilas Bank was merged with DBS Bank India Limited. DBS Bank India is now present in ~350 locations in 19 Indian states. With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. For more information, please visit About DBS Foundation Established in 2014, DBS Foundation is committed to uplifting lives and livelihoods of those in need. It provides essential needs to the underprivileged, and fosters inclusion by equipping the underserved with financial and digital literacy skills. It also nurtures innovative social enterprises that create positive impact. It aims to bring hope to those with less today, so no one is left behind and we can all face the future with confidence. In 2024, DBS committed up to SGD 1 billion dollars over the next decade to support vulnerable communities. It also pledged to contribute 1.5 million employee volunteer hours over the same period. Together with an ecosystem of like-minded partners, DBS Foundation seeks to create impact that goes beyond banking, beyond borders, and beyond generations. For more information, please visit: To View the Images, Click on the Link Below: (From left to right) Claire Wong, Lead (Business for Impact), DBS Foundation; Anant Kumar, CEO of Life Circle Health Services; Dr. Fidah, Vice Chairman, Healthcare & Life Sciences (Global Partnerships), Temasek International; Chen Ze Ling, DBS Group Head Group photo featuring Impact Beyond winners, Impact Beyond Dialogue panellists, and representatives from DBS and DBS Foundation. (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). This is an auto-published feed from PTI with no editorial input from The Wire.
Business Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Businesses tackling Asia's ageing crisis awarded S$3 million at DBS Foundation's Impact Beyond Awards
[SINGAPORE] Smart emergency-response devices available round the clock and using artificial intelligence (AI) to help clients match with caregivers were among the four ideas that won the DBS Foundation's inaugural Impact Beyond Awards. They were unveiled during the DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Dialogue on Thursday (May 29). Collectively, the winners will receive S$3 million from the DBS Foundation and support from the bank to further aid them in tackling urgent needs in ageing societies through developing new products, upscaling their operations and more. The emergency-response device, known as the Buddy of Parents (BOP) Button, is for seniors who live alone or lack 24/7 caregiving support. The wall-mounted, battery-operated BOP Button helps to connect seniors to a round-the-clock emergency response centre if they press it. This emergency device is the flagship product of BOP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based technology provider iWow Technology. Another winner, Evercare Health – a Hong Kong-based healthcare service – is tackling eldercare from another angle: using AI-powered algorithms to match caregivers and clients. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Through Evercare's mobile app, patients and their caregivers are offered features that include scheduling, in-app communication and payment processing. This is alongside connecting seniors with qualified caregivers and specialty services by considering each patient's personal preferences. Rounding out the list of winners were China-based Hua Kang Health Industry Group and India-based Life Circle Health Services. Force for good The awards build on the foundation's commitment to help purpose-driven businesses create an impact, which includes an annual DBS Foundation grant programme for social enterprises that has been running since 2015. This programme has disbursed S$21.5 million in funding to more than 160 organisations regionwide. 'We hope these innovative businesses for impact will demonstrate that businesses can indeed be a force for good,' said Karen Ngui, head of DBS Foundation and DBS group strategic marketing and communications. 'Ageing well should not be a privilege for just the select few but a shared promise for all.' Ngui highlighted that living in a world where the number of people aged over 60 outnumber those younger than five is 'sobering to see'. Singapore was deemed an aged society in 2017 and is barrelling towards a 'super-aged' status in 2026. By 2030, one in four of Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above. An ageing population could create social fractures as seniors, especially those living alone, are more susceptible to social isolation. Rising life expectancies also put a strain on the Republic's healthcare system and raise the emotional and financial burdens on families and caregivers. These were some of the issues explored by the four winners, as well as some senior executives from DBS, GovTech chief executive Goh Wei Boon and Dr Fidah Alsagoff, vice-chairman of life sciences at Temasek International, during the Impact Beyond Dialogue. Kenneth Wong, CEO of Evercare Health, pointed to an inflection point that many will probably go through – transitioning from being someone's child to being their caregiver. For some, the change develops gradually but it can be immediate for others, said Wong, adding that, regardless, it is something that many are never prepared for. His AI-powered technology is aimed at simplifying that and making healthcare more flexible and accessible. Chen Jer Yaw, executive director of BOP, noted that the human-centeredness of these technologies is also important. 'We must understand that technology is to aid (the) human ability to reach out to our loved ones,' he said, adding that though nothing will replace human touch, AI's advancement can still help reduce feelings of isolation. Support needed However, businesses looking to address issues raised by an ageing population have also realised that they cannot face the problem alone. Both the CEO of Life Circle Health Services and the chairman of Huakang Health Group highlighted that they needed two types of support. The first of which, to understand their customers, would be partnerships with grassroots organisations that have worked closely with seniors and caregivers. The second would be government support to help them scale up operations. Tan Su Shan, CEO of DBS, noted that besides creating partnerships between various parts of the ecosystem, building transborder relations is also important. 'We have to create these bridges so that, in spite of whatever geopolitical noises we have, we can embrace AI for good and use it really to create good for the firm and for our societies.'
