Mustard Tree: Is Inclusion of Special Needs Adults into Workforce a Social Imperative?

Should special needs adults be included in the workforce? Should they be integrated into the mainstream workforce, or employed through specialised, segregated channels? Who bears the responsibility for creating inclusive employment opportunities — governments, private enterprises, or society at large?

In April 2025, Soek Ying Koh and Barry Koh, the founders of Mustard Tree, a Singapore-based social enterprise specialising in the training and engagement of autistic adults, contemplated these pressing ethical and organisational questions surrounding inclusive employment.

Globally, approximately 80% of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities remained unemployed due to systemic barriers, deep-seated cultural stigmas, and fast-paced work environments that treated disability through a lens of charity rather than capability. This case examines how Mustard Tree tackles these gaps with an innovative hybrid business model combining vocational training with commercial retail operations. It highlights the classical entrepreneurial dilemma of scaling strategy: How can a social enterprise scale its hybrid operations to achieve long-term financial sustainability without compromising its core mission of providing dignified employment? Students will navigate corporate social responsibility, social innovation, and inclusive business ecosystems.

This case teaches students how to apply Stakeholder Theory to analyse social enterprise ecosystems. It allows students to diagnose systemic barriers to inclusive employment and critique the long-term financial and social sustainability of hybrid business models. The case can be used for undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive education modules covering Corporate Strategy, Business Ethics, Social Entrepreneurship, and Diversity and Inclusion.

Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email ccxshop@smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.

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· Case (SMU-26-0021)

· Teaching Note (SMU-26-0021TN)

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· Case (SMU-26-0021)

· Teaching Note (SMU-26-0021)

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· Case (SMU-26-0021)

· Teaching Note (SMU-26-0021)