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AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific

Empowering educators, workers, and Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Asia-Pacific for the AI-driven future while fostering inclusivity and readiness in the evolving economy.

WITH SUPPORT FROM

Google.org and Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Introducing Phase 3

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About the Fund

AVPN, with support from Google.org and Asian Development Bank (ADB), equips educators, workers, and MSMEs across Asia Pacific with the tools to navigate AI-driven transitions. The Fund works with a diverse network of local organisations and empowers them to deliver training tailored to their communities. Their curricula are built on foundational AI courses from Google and expert partners, and are designed to support a wide range of groups, including students, teachers, rural communities, and small business owners.

Launched in 2024, the Fund started as a USD 15 million initiative designed to ensure AI is for all. Phase 2 of the Fund, with an additional USD 10 million, expanded with an additional component for MSMEs in Southeast Asia. For Phase 3 and with another USD 10 million, we aim to benefit more than 4.7 million people in education across the region.

AI Learning for the Future of Work

Explore practical AI learning resources tailored for educators, workers, and MSMEs in your region. Through the platform, AVPN provides access to the Fund's Local Training Providers and Strategic Partners' AI Training Programmes. Learners can discover accessible and localised content designed to equip them with the essential skills to bridge the digital divide and thrive in an AI-driven future.

Access the AI Learning for the Future of Work

Meet the Local Training Providers for Phase 2

The AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific has expanded with an additional USD 10 million commitment from Google.org to further AI skilling initiatives and ensure more workers and MSMEs are prepared for the AI-driven future. For Phase 2, the Fund has selected 18 organisations for supporting workers across the Asia-Pacific; these organisations are empowered with financial and non-financial support to serve as Local Training Providers within their respective markets.

Investing in AI skilling is investing in the future resilience of our workforce. For Australia, the adoption gap between large organisations and SMEs is widening, particularly in education and regional sectors. Without accessible AI training, many workers risk exclusion from the productivity and innovation gains shaping tomorrow’s economy. By empowering teachers, students and SME employees with AI literacy and ethical-use skills, we enable them to co-create solutions, enhance efficiency, and ensure that the digital transition is fair, inclusive and human-driven.
Rui Torres de Oliveira
Rui Torres de OliveiraIPA SME Centre Research Director, Deakin University
We are excited that the AI Opportunity Fund supports digital inclusion for diverse communities. This opportunity allows us to bring refugee and migrant voices into national conversations about technology and innovation. We look forward to learning from others, sharing insights from our grassroots experience, and co-designing approaches that make AI understandable and useful for everyday life. The Fund will help us build lasting partnerships and create pathways for equitable participation in the AI era.
Dr Fahima Saied
Dr Fahima SaiedCEO, New Settlers Family and Community Trust (NFACT)
Investing in AI upskilling for workers is absolutely essential most especially during this transformative period most especially in Philippine low-income communities that are traditionally viewed as “getting left behind”. For our target beneficiaries – unemployed individuals, service workers, and MSME Employees – AI upskilling is a viable pathway for stronger employability, higher productivity, and even new livelihood opportunities. Funding this program ensures that these Filipino workers will get a chance to actively participate in and benefit from the future of work.
Mark Joaquin Ruiz
Mark Joaquin RuizPresident, Atindahan (Hapinoy)
What excites us most is that AI is still evolving, and yet this fund empowers communities at an early stage which is rare in development work. We expect the AI Opportunity Fund to help create meaningful, context driven solutions shaped by those who experience the challenges firsthand. This initiative opens the door for people at the grassroots to become the solution makers who use AI to solve problems they understand better than anyone else.
Mohammed Fawaz
Mohammed FawazCEO and Founder, CurveUp
Indonesia has millions seeking work. Investing in agile, targeted AI training programs creates immediate economic mobility, enabling unemployed individuals to gain marketable skills and portfolio evidence of competency, while working professionals stay competitive in an AI-transformed job market. Without this investment, Indonesia risks a widening divide between those who can leverage AI and those left behind. We're not just training individuals, we're building Indonesia's capacity to participate in and benefit from the AI economy right now, when it matters most.
Juventia Vicky
Juventia VickyCEO, Hacktiv8 Indonesia
Through this project, we aim to make AI learning accessible to everyone — not just those in cities or English-speaking spaces, but to youth, women, and educators in rural Pakistan. By training a new generation of Urdu-speaking AI facilitators, we’re building digital confidence where it’s needed most. Our goal is to reach 30,000 learners nationwide, combining in-person community training with Urdu AI’s growing online ecosystem to ensure lasting inclusion, economic empowerment, and innovation across communities.
Qaisar Roonjha
Qaisar RoonjhaExecutive Director, Welfare Association for New Generation (WANG)
What excites us most is the potential to transform individual teacher growth into systemic educational change. Phase 1 showed us that teachers are eager to learn—326 participants in just two months with 4.6/5 satisfaction scores. Now, we're ready to scale this enthusiasm tenfold. From the AI Opportunity Fund, we expect not just financial support, but partnership in building a model that proves sustainable AI education is achievable in public education systems. We're particularly excited about creating learning materials that will remain accessible long after the project ends, serving thousands of future teachers.
Kim Sang-gi
Kim Sang-giCEO, Awesome school
Through this program, we seek to expand inclusive access to AI-related skills for unemployed individuals, MSME workers, and agricultural and fishery workers who are often left behind in digital transformation. Our approach prioritizes strengthening local capacities, empowering community-based trainers, and embedding gender-responsive and ethical AI principles across all modules. We aim to ensure that digital innovation becomes accessible, relevant, and sustainable for underserved groups across Indonesia by collaborating with government partners, community organizations, and the private sector.
Muthmainnah Bahri A.Bohang
Muthmainnah Bahri A.BohangDirector, Ruang Kolaborasi Perempuan
AI skilling is no longer optional. It is essential for workers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital economy. For Malaysian students, educators and MSME workers, access to AI training directly impacts employability, teaching quality and business sustainability. Investing in AI skills ensures that underserved groups are not left behind, enabling them to use technology to solve real problems, grow their income and contribute meaningfully to Malaysia’s digital transformation.
Thanaselan Rajendran
Thanaselan RajendranManaging Director, Pepper Labs Sdn. Bhd.
Investing in AI skilling for our workers, particularly vocational students and PMETs, is crucial for securing our economic future. This funding directly addresses the digital gap and ensures that essential AI literacy is accessible, bridging the divide between education and critical industry needs. By focusing on practical, hands-on applications, we equip these groups with the future-ready competencies needed to enhance productivity, stay competitive, and contribute meaningfully to Singapore's and the wider region's evolving digital economy. It's an investment in sustainable growth and regional capability building.
Will Tan Kah Huat
Will Tan Kah HuatProgram Manager, AI Singapore
Funding for AI skilling is essential in India, where many teachers, students, and women entrepreneurs lack structured exposure to emerging technologies. Without support, digital and economic gaps widen, especially in marginalized and low-income communities. With dedicated investment, we can deliver contextual, hands-on AI training that enhances productivity, boosts learning outcomes, and strengthens business capabilities. Such funding ensures that AI becomes an enabler of opportunity rather than a barrier. By helping underserved learners adopt AI safely and effectively, we can accelerate inclusion, employability, and long-term socio-economic resilience.
Apurva Shinde
Apurva ShindeSenior Program Manager, Learning Links Foundation
Our training programme targets groups in Lower/Middle Income Countries who, with our training, can have significant contributions to society. To this end, we aim to create a cohort of Artificial Intelligence (AI) literate students, educators, and healthcare workers who can meaningfully use AI in their routine work. It is expected that the impact will be visible as better study habits, improved lesson design and assessment, and more efficient clinical documentation and communication. Over time, this cohort can seed wider institutional change by sharing practices, mentoring peers, and informing policy on responsible AI use.
Mr. Furqan Ali Shaikh
Mr. Furqan Ali Shaikh Unit Head, AdaptX Hub by AI Center , Asian Institute of Technology
Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Through this project, we aim to bridge that gap by bringing AI learning opportunities to talented learners from underserved communities in Bangladesh. Our goal is to future‑proof livelihoods, enhance employability, and ensure that no one is left behind in the digital age. To achieve this, we will deliver customised training modules supported by relevant pedagogy in classroom settings. These modules will cover fundamental AI techniques, responsible use, and practical applications that directly strengthen earning potential and build a more inclusive future for all.
K A M Morshed
K A M MorshedSenior Director, BRAC
We are truly thrilled to be selected for the AI Opportunity Fund. This grant allows us to bring high-quality AI skilling to populations who rarely benefit from such opportunities—women returning to work, care workers, and service-industry employees. What excites us most is the chance to collaborate with regional governments, global partners, and the AVPN network to build a cross-sector model that could be replicated across Japan. We look forward to learning from other grantees and accelerating a future in which inclusive AI skills uplift entire communities.
Kiyono YAGAMI
Kiyono YAGAMIFounder & CEO, Manabiya Mom Inc.
In Vietnam, AI is arriving faster than most workers can reskill. Without targeted investment, the benefits will concentrate in a small tech elite, while core professionals, teachers, healthcare workers, journalists, risk being left behind. Funding AI skilling is therefore not just a workforce issue, but a justice issue. By investing in these frontline professionals, we give millions of people indirect access to AI’s benefits and help ensure that technology strengthens, rather than weakens, our social fabric and economic resilience.
Tran Viet Hung
Tran Viet HungFounder & CEO, STEAM for Vietnam Foundation
The AI revolution may hit humanity like a tidal wave, and we are underprepared—especially for its unequal impact on the less privileged. To reduce this gap, we aim to equip low-income communities, particularly those working in difficult conditions, with practical AI tools so they are not left behind. We will use two key approaches. First, our proven cascading model trains master trainers who then capacitate others, enabling rapid, large-scale rollout with quality. Second, we will address today’s fragmented attention by replacing long, ineffective videos with short-form, engaging content to reach frontline workers at scale and cut through noise.
Dr Pavan Mamidi
Dr Pavan MamidiDirector, Centre for Social and Behaviour Change
The rapid AI revolution has changed the scene for all spheres of our work and life, in ways that are often inaccessible to the everyday person. The speed and magnitude of this transformation means that many get left behind, and its benefits only impact selective, more technologically-engaged groups in society - often the already privileged and well-resourced. Investing in AI upskilling for workers in small businesses, office employees and workers-to-be will be a crucial step in ensuring the rising AI tide truly lifts all boats in Singapore, and that AI advancements find their way into all of our people.
Rachel Tey
Rachel TeyChief of Staff, Hatch Technologies Pte Ltd
Our goal is to enhance the AI literacy of young people and workers to strengthen Taiwan’s social resilience amid rapid technological change. As universities, SMEs, and nonprofits face urgent demand for high-quality AI training, AIA provides accessible, contextualized, and blended learning to reduce emerging skill gaps and expand equitable access. This program is not only training—it empowers actors and builds a long-term learning network across government, industry, and civil society. By offering updated localized materials, trainer support, and community development, AIA will foster cross-sector collaboration and cultivate talent capable of driving sector transformation and contributing to future AI governance.
Ling-Jyh Chen
Ling-Jyh ChenChief Executive Officer, Taiwan AI Academy

Our Strategic Partners and Local Training Providers

Strategic Partners play a key role in our approach to localisation and contextualisation. In Phase 1, we had 10 Strategic Partners across Asia-Pacific who were responsible for developing the training curriculum, customising it at the market level, and delivering the Train-the-Trainer programme. In Phase 2, the ASEAN Foundation is our Strategic Partner to co-lead the MSME-focused AI training programme, AIM ASEAN.

The 59 Local Training Providers across Phase 1 and 2 are leading the implementation of training the learners in each market. They understand and are trusted by the communities, and they further customised the training materials and delivery style to ensure relevance for the specific beneficiary groups.

Ecosystem-building Activities

The AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific also goes beyond its direct skilling initiatives by engaging in essential ecosystem-building activities across the region. Through targeted efforts such as research, communities of practice, and policy engagement, these activities cultivate a vital enabling environment in the Asia-Pacific. As the Fund aims to holistically further AI skilling, it ensures that resources are strategically utilised and deployed to successfully reach various communities, achieving a sustainable and scalable impact across the region.

Research Report

Based on 400,000+ resources and 3,000 survey responses across eight countries and territories, the “AI for All” report examines how Asia-Pacific is navigating the shift to an AI-enabled future.

View the AI for All Report →

Community of Practice

A collaborative platform convening funders, implementers, and experts across Asia-Pacific to share knowledge, align strategies, and scale AI upskilling for communities with unmet needs.

View the AI for Good Website →

Policy Engagement

Driving policy dialogues with cross-sector leaders to discuss and align best practices on AI skilling across programmes and policy initiatives, aiming to benefit all segments of society.

View the AI Workforce Policy Skilling Toolkit →

Partner With Us

The AI training partner applications are closed. If your organisation is interested in partnering with AVPN on conducting policy research and facilitating stakeholder dialogues on inclusive AI skilling, please apply by 4 February 2025.

Submit Your Application

Expression of Interest

To be invited to apply for the Fund, all interested applicants are required to complete this Expression of Interest form.
Submit Expression of Interest

Information Sessions

To learn more about the fund and the application process, join one of the following information sessions:

  • Information Session 1: 10 June 2025, Tuesday, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM SGT
Register for Session 1
  • Information Session 2: 19 June 2025, Thursday, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM SGT
Register for Session 2

Frequently Asked Questions

Need help?
General Questions

The AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific is an initiative by AVPN, with support from Google.org and ADB, aimed at helping educators, workers, and MSMEs across the Asia Pacific region who are most affected by transitions driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The fund provides financial support, access to additional expertise developed by Google and external partners, and peer learning opportunities. Overall, this model is designed to equip organisations with the resources and knowledge to help educators, workers, and MSMEs thrive in an AI-enabled future.

The selection is based on various criteria, including the organisation’s track record in supporting learners, the impact of their proposed initiatives, and their ability to effectively utilise the resources provided by the fund.

Eligibility and Application

The fund is not currently open for general applications. However, you can register your interest as a learner or a partner.

A diverse range of organisations were eligible to apply for support, including charitable nonprofits, public interest organisations, social enterprises, civic institutions, municipalities, labour unions, professional bodies, and associations that reach out to and support workers impacted by AI-driven workforce transitions. Applicants should have a mission to support workers as part of their core activities and a proven track record of reaching and running programmes for workers. For profit entities without a social impact purpose were not eligible for the fund.

Please monitor the official AVPN AI Opportunity Fund page and follow AVPN social media accounts for any future announcements regarding potential subsequent phases.

No. The Fund is currently dedicated to its specific programme structure and implementation rather than taking in individual requests. Consequently, we are unable to review or respond to uninvited proposals.

Programme Structure and Implementation

In Phase 1, Strategic Partners (SPs) initiated the process by providing localised Train-the-Trainer programmes to Local Training Providers (LTPs), who adapted and delivered the curriculum to workers, job-seekers, and MSMEs. Transitioning into Phase 2 and 3, the Fund empowers LTPs to independently customise and deliver these programmes. This shift allows LTPs to reach their target communities directly, ensuring the curriculum remains responsive to specific market needs and local contexts.

The AI curriculum focuses on basic AI literacy and practical application. It covers foundational concepts, including Generative AI and how to use AI safely. The instruction teaches educators, workers and MSMEs essential skills to boost productivity and be more creative. Moreover, the curriculum also includes modules on Responsible AI, ensuring users understand ethical considerations and how to adopt the technology fairly.

The AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific has launched a training content hub that serves as a directory of its Phase 1 and 2 Local Training Providers. This hub presents their respective programme details, locations, modules, contact information, and instructions for sign-ups. To access this directory and learn more about available skilling initiatives, please visit the AI Learning for the Future of Work.

If you are interested in partnering with us, you may submit your inquiry through this form.

AIM ASEAN (AI for MSME Advancement in ASEAN) is a dedicated track within the AI Opportunity Fund’s Phase 2 and Phase 3, in partnership with the ASEAN Foundation. It aims to train 100,000 MSMEs across the ASEAN Member States, focusing specifically on helping small business owners adopt practical AI applications to enhance competitiveness and growth.

Confidential Information

By opting in, we will be able to mention your organisation’s name, logo, and products/services publicly in relation to the fund on AVPN’s and other partners’ websites and associated marketing collateral.

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