Economic empowerment means creating value, earning an income, exercising choice, and shaping our own future. This applies to people with disabilities (PwDs). Their income might come from a full-time job, freelance or gig work, entrepreneurship, or a mix of these.
“Like anyone else, PwDs should be able to choose work that aligns with their skills, interests, and circumstances. What truly matters are genuine choices and the ability to contribute and earn on professional terms,” says Vincent Lim, co-founder and director of Collective Perspectives.
Founded in 2021, Collective Perspectives equips PwDs with creative skills and connects them with meaningful work, helping them build sustainable careers. The social enterprise offers training in areas such as digital marketing, creative production, and emerging technologies, then translates those skills into paid opportunities in content production, social media, events and brand collaborations.
In 2022, it launched Dare Festival, initially an online initiative that has evolved into a live, inclusive entertainment platform spanning music, theatre, dance, comedy, storytelling, and visual media. It features artists with and without disabilities. Dare was never conceived as “a disability show,” Lim stresses. “We want people to attend because it’s a great show, not because they feel they’re supporting a social cause. They should come to be entertained, inspired, and moved.”
Last year, Collective Perspectives received the ELI Grant from SG Enable, allowing it to further develop its Inclusive Creative Gig Model. Among the resulting initiatives is CO3, an inclusive creative gig portal. The enterprise is studying remuneration benchmarks to introduce greater clarity and equity into how creative work is valued and paid.
In his 30-plus years working in media, broadcasting, entertainment, digital animation, and events, Lim has gained a comprehensive understanding of how creative abilities can be turned into commercially viable work.
He is also the CEO of Fanfare Global, a social commerce business that builds digital commerce ecosystems in emerging markets like Bangladesh. Although Fanfare and Collective Perspectives operate in distinct sectors, Lim believes they share a common underlying logic: they create platforms and ecosystems that bring people, capabilities, and opportunities together.
That same systems-level thinking informs Lim’s view of accessibility, which must extend well beyond physical infrastructure. Digital, communication, and attitudinal barriers persist, with attitudes often the most intractable.
“Sometimes, the biggest barrier isn’t the environment itself, but the assumptions people make about what a person with a disability can or cannot do.”
Vincent Lim on keeping an open mind
For businesses seeking greater inclusion, Lim advocates a fundamental shift: focus on the value PwDs bring rather than the accommodations required. Equally important is debunking the misconception that inclusion lowers standards.
“It doesn’t. If we’re producing a video, it must be a good video. If someone manages social media, the work must deliver results. We don’t want people to be valued because of a disability. We want them to be valued because they are excellent at what they do.”
True inclusion can drive sustainable competitive advantage. Lim firmly believes businesses have barely begun to leverage a vast, untapped pool of overlooked talent.
“Those who learn to unlock that talent aren’t just doing something good—they’re gaining new perspectives, new capabilities, and new ways of creating value. That’s sustainable inclusion.”
Photography Mun Kong
Art direction Annalisa Espino Lim
Grooming Sarah Tan using Charlotte Tilbury & Goldwell
