Singapore, 14 June 2016 – The Sharing Economy Association Singapore (SEAS) has appointed Jim Tan from GoGoVan Singapore as its new President, replacing Eugene Tay who stepped down earlier this year. The SEAS has also appointed Ryan Tan from Leendy and Mike Orgill from Airbnb as Vice Presidents and Lester Kang from MetroResidences as Secretary. The new committee was formed to continue the association’s mission to foster an eco-system for the sharing economy in Singapore to thrive.
“I’m honoured to be given the opportunity. There are many challenges for a young association like ours, especially the lack of awareness and understanding of sharing economy. At the same time, however, I can also see plenty of opportunities for us to build a thriving sharing economy in Singapore. The Smart Nation initiative is a good example.” – Jim Tan said.
The SEAS was founded in 2014 to build a vibrant and sustainable sharing economy community, promote awareness of sharing economy, and bridge the gap between the sharing economy businesses and the government. In April, the association inaugurated a Happy Hour series to connect sharing economy startups, experts, and the government. April Rinne, a sharing economy expert based in San Francisco, Costas Courcoubetis, Professor specialising in Sharing Economy from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), representatives from government agencies, and over 30 startups around the region such as Airbnb, Grab, Carousell, The Hub, MetroResidences, GoGoVan, Rawtale, FlySpaces, and Sendhelper came together to share their views on the future of sharing economy as well as its opportunities and challenges.
In 2016, the association plans to actively grow the sharing economy community. It will also continue to focus on building a forum for more dialogues with various government agencies to align business goals of its members and government policies.