Cover David Bensadon, founder of We Are Caring
David Bensadon, founder of We Are Caring
1 / 1
When David Bensadon founded We Are Caring, a social impact organisation focused on the ethical recruitment of migrant domestic workers, he set out to remove one cost from the system: workers paying to secure jobs. A decade on, that decision is shifting the industry
For generations, domestic work has been the quiet backbone of life in Singapore. As of 2025, more than 300,000 migrant domestic workers (MDWs), according to the Ministry of Manpower, keep households running—supporting dual-income families and caring for an ageing population. Yet, for many of them, the promise of steady employment begins in debt, with months passing before the first pay cheque arrives. It is a system long taken for granted and only now being questioned.
Within it, We Are Caring founder and managing director David Bensadon saw an opportunity for change.
In 2016, the French entrepreneur launched social impact organisation and ethical hiring platform We Are Caring with a goal that placement could be free for MDWs and still be commercially viable. A decade later, this idea continues to influence how ethical recruitment of MDWs is understood and practised in Singapore. When Bensadon arrived in Singapore for an MBA exchange, his interest in elderly care led him to speak with families—and eventually, with the MDWs who supported them. Many described the same experience of significant salary deductions and fees incurred just to secure a job.
After speaking with advocacy groups championing fairer recruitment, Bensadon set out to build a model where ethics and business could align. Starting out, credibility was the first hurdle. “I started with no prior knowledge of regulations and employment rules … and no prior network,” he recalls. “Of course, [growing the company] took time.”
Convincing employers proved especially difficult. As a newcomer—and a foreigner at that—he was asking families to trust a model that ran counter to industry norms. On the other side of the market, though, the response was immediate. MDWs began applying in large numbers, drawn by a simple promise: that they would not have to pay to secure a job. “We’re the first agency [in Singapore] that does not charge helpers to get jobs,” Bensadon says. “They were very happy about that and recommended it to their friends.”
In case you missed it: ItsRainingRaincoats turns 10: celebrating a decade of advocacy for Singapore’s migrant workers
We Are Caring also offers a new way for MDWs and employers to connect. Through its app, families can browse candidate profiles with videos, verified work histories and employer references, then pay a small fee to make contact. The company handles the rest—placement, documentation and ongoing support—with all processes managed online. In 2020, it integrated Singpass into its documentation system—the first MDW employment agency in Singapore to do so—making the hiring more transparent and straightforward for both sides.
The key difference, though, between We Are Caring and its counterparts lies in who bears the cost. Under the traditional model, MDWs are charged fees amounting to four to six months of their salary before they even begin work. Giving an example, Bensadon explains: “A woman from Indonesia who comes to Singapore will typically owe four to six months of pay. For all that time, she earns nothing.”
We Are Caring’s zero-placement-fee model flips this dynamic by removing the financial burden from the helper entirely, and this shift has had tangible effects. Without debts to repay, the workers are less likely to borrow from moneylenders and are more inclined to stay with their employers.
“It really matters,” he says. “Many are supporting children or ageing parents back home.”
For employers, the draw is practical. The no-placement-fee structure attracts more workers, giving families a wider pool to choose from, while the digital platform and the agency’s thorough vetting ensure transparency during selection.
“Most employers come to us because we have more candidates and more extensive screening than any other agency,” Bensadon says.
This business model, it seems, has borne fruit, with the approach producing steady results over the years: We Are Caring now places more than a thousand workers each year and reports retention rates above the industry norm.
Above An introduction to We Are Caring
The company’s work goes beyond placement. It runs the Employers’ Orientation Programme, a 90-minute online course accredited by the Ministry of Manpower that helps first-time employers understand their responsibilities, and partners with groups such as Uplifters to offer training and upskilling for MDWs. It also pilots initiatives such as the Indonesian Caregivers Programme, which deploys workers from Indonesia to Singapore who are trained in basic medical care, hygiene and elderly nutrition.
The aim is to intervene at multiple points in the system: before hiring, during employment and across borders. That includes everything from handling complex cross-country compliance issues to supporting employers and workers through disputes, medical situations or financial distress—areas where the consequences of a flawed system often surface most acutely.
The company has also positioned itself as a reference point for ethical recruitment. In 2022, it became the first organisation globally to receive accreditation from the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations agency that sets standards for ethical hiring practices.
For Bensadon, the certification marks not just recognition, but also responsibility. “We are among the global leaders in ethical recruitment of migrant workers, in terms of practices,” he says.
That role extends into advocacy and industry engagement. The company shares its practices with agencies abroad and publishes internal data—such as salary benchmarks—to improve transparency in a market where information is often fragmented.
“The aim,” Bensadon says, “is not to keep a competitive advantage, but to accelerate change.”
Growth, meanwhile, is extending beyond Singapore, with the company expanding into Hong Kong and the Philippines while exploring how to better manage recruitment across borders.
Bensadon’s long-term goal is to build a network of like-minded hiring platforms for MDWs operating under a shared ethical framework, with We Are Caring as the connecting platform.
“We want to establish We Are Caring as the first ethical [MDW employment] company at a global level that can unlock local barriers and regulations,” he says. “We hope to create a network of agencies and progressively become a platform for all ethical agencies to tap into.”
Topics
Nafeesa Saini is the Features Editor at Tatler Singapore, where she shapes long-form stories on culture, business, philanthropy, wellness, and the people driving change in Asia. With a deep interest in storytelling that intersects meaningfully with identity and impact, she has profiled a diverse range of visionaries, from scientific pioneers in AI and health to creative trailblazers and literary minds.
Nafeesa’s writing includes cover stories and profiles that spotlight influential voices, alongside commentary on the trends reshaping our world.
Off the clock, Nafeesa unwinds with fiction, a good thrift hunt, and ‘brainrot’ TikTok scroll—while always keeping one eye on her next cultural getaway, usually to Indonesia.
