From Unseen to Unstoppable: Building Sustainable Markets for Ageing Dignity in Thailand

By Charkhris Phomyoth (Gap), CEO and Co-Founder, YoungHappy (Thailand)

In Thailand’s urban centres, I kept meeting older people who felt unseen. Many are part of the “missing middle”. They are not poor enough for government welfare, but not wealthy enough for private care. Too often, they are treated as passive and vulnerable, when they still want to learn, connect and contribute. That is why we started YoungHappy.

My mission has stayed consistent: to help older people feel confident to grow older, to help families value them, and to help society embrace ageing with dignity. In practice, this meant moving beyond one-to-one support. We developed an “Empower-Link-Theme” approach that treats seniors as capable contributors, not beneficiaries. The road has tested us, including website hacks, COVID-19 disruption and a financial crunch. Youth Co:Lab has been a steady anchor, offering a long-term network and the credibility that comes with UNDP’s support.  That ten-year connection has meant more than any single programme moment.

Today, our work reaches thousands of seniors across Thailand. We create offline community spaces and online learning that protect dignity and build confidence. In Bangkok, our mall-based community spaces at The Crystal (three branches) turn quiet daytime areas into social hubs. They support more than 2,000 seniors each year with activities, connection and a sense of belonging.

Our Senior Changemaker programme has trained over 500 seniors across more than 40 locations to design and lead community projects, from health and wellbeing initiatives to local recycling drives. We also teach practical tools like crowdfunding. One lesson surprised me. Seniors can often mobilize corporate and government leaders in ways younger founders cannot, simply because trust and relationships compound over a lifetime.

To reach seniors beyond where we can be physically, we built YoungHappy Plus, a digital community and service platform designed to help seniors learn, connect and access trusted experiences more easily. It supports over 200 daily active users and can host over 1,000 participants in a single live class. We also run a Health Promoter programme built on peer influence. In one cohort of 700 participants, people lost an average of 1.5 kg each, showing how strongly seniors respond to support from their own generation.

Keeping the organization sustainable has taken discipline. We shifted from heavy reliance on government grants towards more private-sector revenue through sponsorships, commissions and memberships. I am proud that the model is influencing others. Two Thai hospitals have replicated parts of our volunteer approach to ease staff shortages, and malls have asked us to advise on senior-friendly community space design. Our youth-facing ageing innovation efforts have engaged 5,000 young people and helped spark youth-led initiatives that continue beyond the programme.

YoungHappy has also been recognized internationally for its work on the “missing middle”, including through the World Economic Forum’s innovation ecosystem. Looking ahead, I want to grow our work across ASEAN while protecting what matters most. That includes fair pay for the team and dignified experiences for seniors. To scale this work, we need more partners, more resources and more places where this model can take root. I also want to keep investing in the next generation, because I hope they become better than YoungHappy.

At its core, YoungHappy is about dignity in ageing. I want the “missing middle” to be seen, and I want older people to be recognized as capable contributors to community life.

About the Author 

Charkhris Phomyoth (Gap) is the CEO and Co-Founder of YoungHappy, a social enterprise dedicated to ageing dignity in Thailand. His work focuses on building sustainable community spaces, advancing digital inclusion, and recognizing seniors as active contributors to community life.