Manmeet Singh

In 2016 Manmeet, a project manager in an Oil & Gas technology company, came up with an idea to help those less fortunate to feel appreciated. He came from humble beginnings, and wanted to give back. He opened a bakery in Abu Dhabi and launched CakeForCake, based on footwear company Toms’ charitable model – when a customer buys a cake of 1kg or above, Manmeet surprises someone less fortunate with a cake.

What specifically inspired you to focus on birthdays?

The president of my company was surprised with a birthday cake when he checked into an Abu Dhabi hotel. If that made such a big difference to his happiness, I could only imagine the amount of joy it would bring to blue-collared workers, particularly when most of them don’t have enough money or friends to celebrate their birthdays with.

What has the response been like?

We have celebrated more than 800 birthdays. We surprised a labourer in Musaffah with a cake full of candles and he didn’t know what to do because it was the first time he had ever received a cake. A 65-year-old Pakistani man in Al Ain had never cut a cake before. These experiences inspire and motivate us to do more.

How did you find out about the #MyBetterStartsNow campaign and what does it mean to you?

My wife read Friday’s feature about the campaign and sent in my nomination immediately. #MyBetterStartsNow reflects how we didn’t wait too long to start CakeForCake once the idea came to me. I believe that we have to celebrate people and spread happiness now, not later.

How will winning this contest help you?

I plan to create an app that will help us gather data and allow customers to nominate people.