We live in a world with beautiful initiatives, which must be known. 
Kim Tan shares with us the great initiative of Anil David who founded AGAPE and now spreads life-changing work opportunities to those in our society that have been neglected, just as his life was transformed.
Thank you, Kim, for this testimony and for the opportunity to learn about this project.
Jean-François de Lavison
 

This is a testimony of a beneficiary of Agape’s program that we work for the last few years.
A “regular” in the prison circle where that was his first home… 
Today he has been given an entry into the Singapore University Of Social Science (SUSS) to do
a degree… How can this be possible… Read his own testimony HERE….

 

 
AGAPE’s mission is to provide reskilling and employment opportunities for community transformation. We are a leading provider of rehabilitation, reintegration and resettlement services for prisoners, ex-offenders, single mothers, the physically challenged and youth at risk. To do that, Agape operates as a business process solutions provider offering a full suite of contact centre solutions to corporate clients. To further enhance our people’s employment and employability in the marketplace, Agape will be providing certified skills training courses (accredited by the local government) from October 2020.

Agape was founded by Anil David, an ex-offender who learnt about the call centre business while in prison. Agape currently operates a call/contact centre in Singapore’s Changi prison with 60-seat in the men’s prison and a 100-seat in the women’s prison. Inmates who still have 12 to 24 months to serve are screened, trained and employed to operate the call/contact centre. Rent is paid to the prison and inmates are paid a salary which is disbursed when they leave prison. Agape aims to re-build self-esteem and confidence by employing inmates and equipping them with skills so that, on their release, they can reintegrate into society and the marketplace, and thereby reducing reoffending.

Agape also operates a 40-seat call/contact centre outside the prison in their city office. Suitable ex-inmates are re-employed when they are released from Changi. The prison has initiated a programme of six-month early release for good behaviour, provided inmates work in Agape’s call centre and are tagged. In addition to ex-offenders, Agape intentionally employs disabled individuals in its city centre. Creating an inclusive environment where a significant number are ex-offenders, where no one is judged, where everyone is accepted is an important factor in reducing the rate of recidivism down at 3%.

Kim is the chairman of SpringHill Management, a private fund management company specialising in biotech and social venture capital investments. He is a partner of several social impact funds including Inqo Investments (South Africa), Springhill Equity Partners (US), Novastar Ventures (Kenya) and Garden Impact Investment (Singapore).

He is the co-founder of the Transformational Business Network and is on the advisory boards of the John Templeton Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Citizenship Trust and PovertyCure.

He was the founder chairman of NCI Cancer Hospital (Malaysia) and the inventor of sheep monoclonal antibodies. He is a Pro-Chancellor of Surrey University (UK), a board member of the Centre for Enterprise, Markets & Ethics (Oxford) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK). He is a former board member of the Saracens Rugby Club and the APEC Life Science Innovation Forum. He is the co-author with Lord Brian Griffiths of ‘Fighting Poverty through Enterprise’ and ‘Social Impact Investing: New agenda in fighting poverty’.

About Kim Tan, SpringHill Management