Gifftid Origins - Grace
Aug 24, 2023
Grace Castillo
Genes and Environment : Curiosity and Social Sensitivity
Consistently, the only child among adults listening to political, social, business and economic conversations, began at age 7. Read the Diary of Anne Frank at age 7, Future Shock by Alvin Toffler at age 10 and more of this genre. Naively, routinely challenged norms, ideas or actions that don’t sit well in my gut. Often fearful, worried, perplexed, but buried these feelings throughout the ensuing years to build a business/commercial career in the life science industry.
Early exposure to unrest, chaos, confusion without adult supervision (I was treated like one even when I was still a child), strong sense of generosity, (my parents are both givers and recipients), I grew up seeing my family enabling others and receiving help too, in many forms.
Humans at their Best: Global South and North
Two worlds, in contrast… Philippines/Southeast Asia, post 9/11 settled in Canada. Sincerely miss the collaborative, can - do spirit, strong sense of community support for the economically underprivileged, creativity when resources are scarce present in emerging countries. Admired people’s hard work, resilience and grit despite systemic inefficiency.
25 years In the Global North, I was drawn to people’s openness to new ideas, an environment where anyone, brave enough to tackle a problem, even with untested concepts is welcomed and given a chance to succeed.
Health + Technology + Impact Incubation
Never did I imagine I could be a founder/ entrepreneur, investor, inventor, mentor, employer, enabler,pioneer, leader in one company, Self Care Catalysts. Almost a decade of incredible learnings, shaping an idea and transforming it into a digital health company that could impact patients through digital tools and data empowerment. I moved on when the company was acquired, armed with valuable, priceless lessons for the next - Gifftid.
University of Oxford for Social Finance, Impact Investing, Impact Measurements
A life-long learner no doubt.I felt so much at home with like-minded people, surrounded by intellectuals but who define themselves more as change-makers, people who want to make a meaningful impact. The environment where classroom learnings, like-minded Co-Founders, shared purpose and my real world experiences sparked the formation of Gifftid.
Gifftid is the culmination of the Co-Founders’ shared purpose to elevate social enterprises by providing a digital operating and intelligence platform to enable Theory of Change and Impact based implementation, evidence generation and performance decision-making. An impact - driven execution is the foundation of impact management, evidence generation and reporting.
I am Grace Almendras Castillo, extremely privileged, inspired, challenged to work hard, alongside my Gifftid peers to help shape the new impact economy.