Empowering Women, Scaling Impact: A collaboration between Rise & Thrive and Better.sg

When Rise & Thrive (formerly Her Rise Above) set out to empower women from low-income households in 2019, they faced a common challenge among grassroots initiatives: scaling with limited resources. A timely partnership with Better.sg provided the digital boost they needed.

Through this collaboration, Rise & Thrive launched a robust e-learning platform, making their training more accessible and allowing more women to build sustainable home-based businesses.

Elaine-Juan Khurana, Senior Manager at Rise & Thrive explained that its goal is to empower women to build sustainable, home-based businesses that enhance their economic stability. Success, for them, will be when a significant number of women achieve stable incomes for their families and continue to sustain or grow their businesses over time.

Early Challenges and Growth

In its infancy, Her Rise Above faced a steep learning curve. ‘We grew organically and learned a great deal along the way, ’ Elaine explains. Without a structured intake process at the start, there were occasional mismatches in expectations particularly around the level of commitment required. Additionally, the organisation encountered women in crisis situations, prompting them to form partnerships with other organisations that could provide appropriate support and care.

The Rise & Thrive team remains positive in their outlook, “For us it is important to stay accessible and meet the Risers where they are in their journey, but also to expand our reach each year and ensure each Riser receives hands-on, effective training and mentorship to support their growth.”

Developing a Mentorship Program

Recognising the need for structured support, Rise & Thrive developed a mentorship programme. “Every Riser starts their journey with an important decision - a decision to start/grow their home-based business and improve their skills,” Elaine explained.

Once onboarded, each Riser is paired with a dedicated volunteer mentor for a 12-week program focused on essential business skills. “We believe in the potential of every Riser and our program is designed to support them on their entrepreneurial journey, harnessing their strengths so that they can grow and achieve their goals,” she emphasised.

Upon completing the mentorship program, Risers can access grants to launch their business and build their brand identity. Additionally, they join a dynamic community and unlock access to workshops for advanced business skill development and opportunities to explore new business prospects. Since then, follow-on programs such as Go-to-Market Opportunities, a Bookkeeping Financial Literacy program, and an Alumni program called Take-Off have also been introduced.

The Impact of Technology: Working With better.sg

A partnership with better.sg played a significant role in the organisation’s growth, with the introduction of an e-learning management system. “This innovation has made our training modules far more structured and accessible, allowing Risers to learn at their own convenience,” Elaine explains. It also allowed the team to track progress more effectively and support more Risers.

Thanks to this collaboration, Her Rise Above doubled the number of Risers onboarded this year compared to last. “A special shout-out to better.sg members Gin and Shin Ying, whose commitment has been invaluable in driving this transformation. Their expertise, patience, and passion for making a meaningful impact have helped us further our mission to support more women entrepreneurs within the community,” she adds.

Success Stories and Community Impact

Since 2019, Rise & Thrive has positively impacted 68 Risers through its growing mentorship program and mindset coaching, with 38 actively running home-based businesses in 2025. In January 2025, the organisation launched the Take-Off Group, a specially selected circle of advanced entrepreneurs from within the community. This new initiative provides targeted support to meet the evolving needs of Risers and helps them stay aligned with their goals. “As Risers start their own businesses, they experience a boost in income and…this stability can enable families to access improved education, healthcare, and home ownership”, Elaine shared.

Building a Strong Community

Community support is at the heart of Rise & Thrive. “Over the years, we’ve built a strong, supportive network among women, creating a safe space for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and peer support,” Elaine emphasised. “This network fosters meaningful relationships and gives them the confidence to take bold steps in their business and personal growth journey, knowing that they have a community they can rely on.”

Future Aspirations

Looking ahead, Rise & Thrive has ambitious goals. It has been registered as a charity, which enables them to support Risers better.  “We’re committed to building a sustainable funding model by diversifying our income streams through corporate sponsorships, grants, individual donations, and offering training modules on home-based business setup in Singapore to a wider audience,” Elaine shared. If you’d like to support Rise & Thrive  and learn more about their work, do visit their Accelerate Action 2025 Catalogue! If you are an entrepreneur or marketing professional, you can also volunteer by signing up here.

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If you are a non-profit looking for partners to assist you with your digital solutions, drop better.sg a message at info@better.sg.