SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – August 23, 2023 – Xero, the global platform for small businesses, marked the first day of Xerocon Sydney 2023 by opening applications for its first Xero Beautiful Business Fund, designed to celebrate small businesses, enable them to succeed and accelerate their growth. The initiative is now open for applications with funding of over S$620,000 available to support the future aspirations of small businesses around the world.
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Xero Great Business Fund is open to Xero small business customers in Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec), New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, USA and UK and will reward businesses willing to take the next step in various aspects of their business.
There are low barriers to entry and to apply, Xero small business customers in Singapore will need to submit a 90-second pitch video and complete a short written form for as many categories as they wish:
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Innovating for sustainability: For small businesses looking to take the next step in their sustainability journey. This could include, for example, switching to sustainable packaging, implementing energy-efficient equipment or carbon-neutral transport.
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Technology pioneer: For small businesses looking to innovate. This could include digitizing parts of their operations or integrating new emerging technologies.
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Strengthen the community bond: For small businesses or non-profit organizations that are striving to give back to their community. It can be contributing to philanthropy, social good or having a significant impact on the community.
- Improving skills for the future: For small businesses looking to support the skills development of themselves or their employees. This could include access to training and other professional development opportunities.
Each submission should be future-focused and detail how the funding would benefit the small business.
“Supporting and celebrating small businesses and their owners is core to Xero’s mission, and we’re excited by the opportunity to give these businesses and pioneers funding that can help them reach the next level of success,” said said Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO of Xero. “We are happy to award funds to help our clients take the next step in areas such as sustainability or exploring new technologies where they may not have had the money to do so. TO DO.
For Singapore small business customers, S$15,000 is up for grabs for a winner in each of the four categories, with an additional S$40,000 available if a winning small business from Singapore receives a global award. Shortlisted entries from small business clients will be judged by a regional judging panel, which includes:
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Tan Chee Wee, Executive Director of Advocacy and Policy, Singapore Business Federation
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Alan Chang, Managing Director, Singapore Enterprise Services
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Alicia Pan, Co-Founder, Yoga Movement and Director, Strong Pilates Singapore
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Koren Wines, Managing Director of Xero Asia
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Nachi Leong, Xero Asia Integration Specialist
The four winners from Singapore, along with category winners from the other six countries (28 in total), will be presented to the global jury to select the global winner for each of the four categories. The global judging panel for the inaugural Xero Beautiful Business Fund includes judges who represent accounting, small business and Xero’s global partners: Laurie McCabe, co-founder and partner of SMB Group; Becca McClure, Chief Transformation Officer, BDO Global; Jeanne Grosser, Global Head of Partnerships, Stripe; John Hummelstad, CEO of Locatrix; Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO of Xero; and Nigel Piper, Xero Executive General Manager, Customer Experience.
For full submission criteria and details, please visit the
website. Applications will close on October 6, 2023. Winners will be announced later this year.
Appendix – About the Judges
Koren Wines, Asia Regional Manager, Xero
Koren has been named Xero’s Regional Director for Asia in 2022. She is responsible for driving Xero’s growth in Asia, working closely with key financial institutions and governments in the region to bring value to small businesses. and the community of partners.
Koren joined Xero as Senior Partner Marketing Manager in 2017, establishing Xero’s global sales enablement function, and has since held other global leadership positions at Xero. Prior to joining Xero, she was Director of Operations at DCCS Australia. Koren holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) from Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.
Alicia Pan, Co-Owner, Founder and Director, Move Repeat
Alicia Pan is a singer/songwriter turned entrepreneur, and is co-owner/founder and director of Move Repeat, a collective of fitness lifestyle brands dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences in certain modalities. Committed to quality, sustainable growth and brand excellence, it is currently home to two of the hottest fitness brands, Yoga Movement and Strong Pilates Singapore.
His leadership and dedication continue to propel these brands to even greater heights, cementing his role as the driving force behind Move Repeat’s success and its mission to elevate both individuals and businesses.
Tan Chee Wee, Executive Director, Singapore Business Federation
Tan Chee Wee represents the interests of the Singapore business community. It works with professional associations and chambers, governments, private sector actors and higher education institutes to stimulate business capacity building in digitization and business transformation. He also led efforts to address long-standing issues around fair tenancy and the financial and social protection of platform workers.
Prior to joining SBF, Chee Wee spent over 20 years in the Singapore Public Service with the Infocomm Media and Development Authority (IMDA), in various leadership roles including Director of Planning and Research of business, director of digital literacy and head of Singapore Film. Commission. Chee Wee continues to be dedicated to the public service of Singapore in its role in protecting the rights of the Singapore business community.
Alan Chang, Managing Director, Singapore Enterprise Services
Alan is a seasoned professional with 20 years of combined auditing and accounting experience in Singapore and Malaysia. He advises companies seeking to list on the Hong Kong and Singapore stock exchanges in the IT, manufacturing, real estate, investment, retail and logistics sectors.
Besides SCS, Alan also plays other important roles. For example, he co-founded RF Group and helped establish a licensed fintech-focused fund management company in Singapore. Alan is also an independent director of several SGX-listed companies, while serving as a non-executive director and serving on the IPO and Audit Committee of a Hong Kong-listed company. He is Director and Treasurer of Ambulance Wish Singapore and Independent Director of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation.
Alan’s passion allows him to advise clients across ASEAN on digital transformation in accounting and business process improvement in their business.
Nachi Leong, Xero Asia Integration Specialist, Xero
As a Small Business Specialist at Xero, Nachi works with small and medium businesses across different industries to determine the best strategies for their organization.
Nachi empowers small businesses to work smarter and faster with cloud accounting. She reduces barriers that small businesses may face in their journey by educating them on how to take advantage of digitalization and serves as a point of contact for customers to bring more value to their business.
His role as an onboarding specialist at Xero has helped countless companies take the first step into cloud accounting and easily start their digitalization journey, enabling them to future-proof their business for the long term.
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