Jack Sim, a Singaporean social entrepreneur widely known as “Mr Toilet,” is the founder of the World Toilet Organization (established in 2001). He created the organisation after recognising that global sanitation—especially access to proper toilets—was a neglected but crucial public health issue affecting billions of people. Jack Sim approached the topic with an unusual mix of humour, boldness and activism, using the “toilet” as a symbol to spark conversations that many governments and societies tended to avoid. His advocacy reframed sanitation from being an embarrassing topic into a legitimate global development priority, influencing public policy and inspiring widespread media attention. Jack Sim also founded the Restroom Association of Singapore and was instrumental in initiating the UN’s World Toilet Day, now an official international day observed on 19 November.
Through the World Toilet Organization, Jack Sim has championed practical, community‑based sanitation solutions and pushed global leaders to prioritise hygiene, dignity, and access to safe toilets. His work spans education, fundraising, policy advocacy, and partnerships with NGOs, corporations, and governments to improve sanitation infrastructure in developing countries. Jack Sim’s philosophy centres on breaking taboos, using humour to disarm stigma, and empowering local communities to take ownership of sanitation projects. Over the years, he has received numerous awards—including recognition by Time Magazine as one of its “Heroes of the Environment”—and continues to be a powerful voice showing how simple, human‑centred solutions can dramatically improve health, reduce poverty, and restore dignity to millions worldwide.
Since around 2011, Jack Sim has extended his mission beyond sanitation through BoP Hub, an initiative to “design business to end poverty.” BoP Hub works to harness social entrepreneurship and market‑based strategies to serve the four billion people living at the base of the global economic pyramid. Acting as a global market‑builder, the organisation brings together social enterprises, NGOs, private companies, and investors to create affordable, accessible and sustainable solutions in sanitation, housing, health, energy and other essential sectors.
One of BoP Hub’s flagship ambitions is to build a “World Trade Center for the Poor,” a large‑scale coordination hub to support innovation and entrepreneurship among low‑income communities. Through partnerships, incubation programmes and ecosystem‑building efforts, Jack Sim continues to drive sustainable, market‑driven pathways for the economic empowerment of the world’s poorest populations. One of BoP Hub’s flagship was a partnership with Asia Philanthropy Circle to disrupt the human traffickers overcharging construction workers from Bangladesh coming to Singapore. They managed to reduce the fees from SGD 10,000 to SGD 3,000. This means each worker can send SGD 7000 more money home.
He also built a 65,000 SQ ft SDG Center next to the Ubi MRT station, a large‑scale coordination hub to support innovation and entrepreneurship among low‑income communities. Through partnerships, incubation programmes and ecosystem‑building efforts, Jack Sim continues to drive sustainable, market‑driven pathways for the economic empowerment of the world’s poorest populations.
Over the last 25 years, his World Toilet Movement brought access to proper sanitation to 2.5 billion people. He lobbied the Brazilian Senate to pass a privatisation bill that attracted USD 44 billion investments into Brazilian sewage treatment plants. He helped India build 110 million toilets and helped China clean up all its tourism toilets.
