6 Hotspots for Social Impact in Asia: Key Trends and Players
4 min read
Inclusive Business (IB) is a novel concept in Asia, but highly relevant. Aiming to catalyse social impact in a financially viable way, it provides opportunities for private and public sector players to work alongside communities at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) to enable sustainable livelihoods for all.
6 Lessons for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in the Time of COVID-19
5 min read
With schools across the globe closing, the COVID-19 health emergency has brought unprecedented change and uncertainty to 1.5 billion learners in 165 countries1. Students are learning to adapt to the online educational opportunities that government and schools are hurrying to deliver to meet the challenge. For millions of young children at the pre-primary level, however, sources of safety and comfort – found in the familiar routine and structure provided by planned activities at school – are now dramatically altered.
ASCEP: Landscape of Social Enterprises in Singapore
The buzz around social enterprises in Singapore is growing louder and more insistent. Yet one does not have to scratch too far beneath the surface of this energy and enthusiasm to realise that there is little consensus even amongst the most ardentsupporters on what the primary characteristics of an organisation that calls itself a social […]
AVPN April 2014 Webinar Recording: BoP Hub – Transforming Poverty into a Vibrant Marketplace at the Base of Pyramid
“Charity is not the solution. To get out of poverty you need an income. Philanthropy should focus on teaching a man to fish and not give him a fish.” – Jack Sim, Founder of World Toilet Organization and BoP Hub. We held a webinar with BoP Hub on 24th April 2014, 4pm Singapore time where we found out […]
AVPN April Webinar: Role of Partnerships in Building Sustainable and Scalable Inclusive Businesses
Across Asia, people who belong to the low-income segment or live in poverty make up 60 percent of the population. Many of these people spend less than $3 a day on purchases. While governments have a vital role to play in creating pathways to fair, lasting and shared prosperity, it is increasingly the private sector […]
AVPN August 2014 Webinar: Poverty Eradication and Rural Community Development through Venture Philanthropy
Please find the webinar recording from 26th August 2014 and the powerpoint at the end of the post. South East Asia has experienced sustained economic growth over the past three years. However, negative spill overs such as widening income gap, inability of minority or marginalised participating in the growth and mismatched or limited growth in […]
AVPN Co-Organises Landmark Social Investing Conference in China
The inaugural China Social Enterprise and Social Investment Forum kicked off to a roaring start in Shenzhen on 18th June for a day and a half of discussions with international and Asian speakers sharing their best practices with the Chinese audience. The forum is organized by the Alliance of the same name, founded by 16 […]
AVPN Develops the Vp Market in Taiwan
In early September, AVPN was in Taipei to further understand the social enterprise sector and the philanthropy landscape in Taiwan. AVPN met with various government agencies promoting the social enterprise space including the workforce development agency and the ministry of economic affairs. We also conducted a series of workshops on venture philanthropy. We held a […]
AVPN Exchanged MOU with China Charity Fair as Strategic Partner
The 4th China Charity Fair was held from Sept. 18th-20th in South China’s booming city, Shenzhen. AVPN partnered with China Charity Fair in organizing the event and brought international member organizations from eight countries to participate at the trade fair, and another 10 organisations participated in the conferences as speakers. Overview of China Charity Fair […]
AVPN January 2014 Webinar: Myanmar in Context: Internal Dynamics and the Contest for the Nation
How can we get involved in Myanmar? Whether you are from a foundation, impact investor or social enterprise, we tried to cover the different angles for participation in this country that is slowly opening its doors to the outside world. The speakers for the previous 2 webinars include Nicholas Lazos from Insitor Management, Allison Morris […]
AVPN June 2015 Webinar Recording: China’s Social Enterprise Sector and Impact investing landscape
China’s social entrepreneurship sector is still in its early stages but its growth expectations for the next few years is exponential given the size of the economy and the social needs. In addition to the regular challenges faced by social entrepreneurs, Chinese Social enterprises face unique challenges due to the influential role played by the […]
AVPN Launches Investment Showcase
We have launched an Investment Showcase on our website to actively promote our members’ activities by highlighting organisations, programmes and activities that have been funded by these members. The Investment Showcase features members’ social investment projects and appears on the resources page of the AVPN website. The purpose of this page is to present existing […]
AVPN May 2015 Webinar Recording: Creating Impact – Learning from Failure
View the recorded webinar here: Presentation can be viewed and downloaded from here: Creating Impact – Learning from Failure (Presentation)
AVPN Members’ SEs pitching at Friday Happy Hour with JFDI
AVPN collaborated with Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI) to host a Friday happy hour session for our member, The Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) on 15th May. In the landmark startup building–Blk 71 at Ayer Rajah, APNIC brought four grantees to discuss how technology can create greater social impact to a full house of […]
AVPN November 2015 webinar recording- The Power of Designs for Social Good: Autodesk Foundation’s Approach
It all starts with a design. Tesla redesigned electric cars for better and more energy-efficient performance; Avatar created a surreal world that took our breath away; the newly completed Shanghai Tower is designed as the greenest super-high-rise building on earth. Behind all these great designs is Autodesk and its corporate foundation: Autodesk Foundation. In this […]
AVPN September 2015 Webinar Recording- Social Innovations In Environment
Global warming, toxic waste pollutions, deforestation… Environmental issues are always close to the heart of mankind. Against the backdrop of a global environmental deterioration, social innovation becomes an important force to address and solve various issues and to work towards sustainable development. In our first investment showcase webinar, we are introducing two social enterprises in […]
British Council China: building the ecosystem, social enterprises and entrepreneurs
British Council China’s capacity building is its strategy in building the ecosystem as well as organisations.
British Council Survey: What Support Services Do Social Enterprises Need in Your Country?
Our partner, the British Council, seeks your help in answering this question by taking part in a short online survey. The survey asks about the provision of support for social enterprises around the world. It focuses particularly on digital support services to help new and existing social enterprises, as well as organisations that support the […]
Catalysing Venture Philanthropy Funds in Asia
As venture philanthropy finds its feet in Asia, AVPN continues to play an instrumental role as a catalyst for the setting up of venture philanthropy funds in the region. While philanthropy by itself is not a recent phenomenon in Asia, AVPN is helping crystallise the concepts of venture philanthropy and social investment in an attempt […]
ChangeFusion – Mutually building the mutual fund
ChangeFusion implemented solutions to locate and to pave the way for social enterprises thus elevating the entire Thai social enterprise eco-system.
DBS Foundation’s design for a three-tier programme for developing social enterprises in Asia
DBSF aims to spark social innovation and grow social entrepreneurship by encouraging the development of ground-breaking social initiatives.
Deshpande Foundation seeding local social innovation from entrepreneur to entrepreneur
Deshpande Foundation’s capacity building follows a consistent bottom-up approach, working to empower aspiring entrepreneurs.
Education, Livelihood, and Enterprise Development Tops Key Areas of Interest in Member Survey
AVPN finished the analysis of our 2014 survey responses and wanted to share with everyone some of the key findings. Members expressed that the top four value added areas provided by AVPN included network and interactions with other like-minded people, the annual conference, the collaboration opportunities and the connections. In line with this, members found […]
ETIC’s development of the social innovation ecosystem in Japan
Offering a diversified portfolio of capacity building measures to Japanese interested in social entrepreneurship at any stage.
Giving Circles Asia Launches Their Information Portal!
A giving circle is a group of individuals who pool their money and collectively decide on donating to a particular non-profit organisation. Some giving circles are self-managed, whose members evaluate potential non-profits and administer grants.
Global Leader Series: Beyond Measurements – Creating an Effective Social Value Framework | AVPN Highlight Reel
On 26 September 2017, AVPN partnered the National Council of Social Services Singapore to host the Global Leader Series Conference 2, which aimed to help stakeholders collaboratively increase social value.
Watch the highlight reel to find out what key stakeholders have to say about the workshop!
Global Survey on funders – Philanthropy in Motion
PIM (www.pimchina.org) provides a platform that connects donors and funders worldwide to support social purpose organizations, including NGOs and social enterprises. We are in the process of designing an interactive technology product that will improve transparency in the philanthropic sector, streamlining not only access to information about but also interaction with social purpose organizations. Please […]
Hidden Hunger in Singapore Discussed at AVPN’s Friday Session
For the month of July, AVPN had an intimate gathering with members and community friends at Jack Sim’s house to learn more about the work being done by the BoP Hub. The main project highlighted was on the issue of hidden hunger amongst foreign migrant workers in Singapore. A recent research conducted by NUS […]
Hong Kong to Become a “Social Business City”?
AVPN attended the Social Enterprise Summit in Hong Kong, which consisted of month-long activities on social innovation and entrepreneurship leading up to the main symposium from 29th November to 2nd December 2012. The summit was opened by the HKSAR Chief Secretary, demonstrating the city’s commitment to develop itself into a “Social Business City”. This term […]
Investment Showcase Is Back Online with 40 New Cases!
The original AVPN investment showcase is back on our website with many new cases profiled by our members! The purpose of the investment showcase is to provide a platform for AVPN members to showcase their investees and to encourage the deal sharing, co-investment and partnership among our members. All projects posted are supported by our […]
Join SIF’s Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSE) 2016 Workshop
Examines the relationships between the stakeholders within the social entrepreneurship landscape and discusses the current trends from their perspectives.
Media Development Investment Fund Founder opens up about his struggles with social investment
AVPN and NUS Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy Sasa Vucinic hosted a roundtable on 7th of March 2014 for Sasa Vucinic. With more than 20 years’ experience as both social entrepreneur and social investor, Sasa Vucinic, Co-Founder of the Media Development Loan Fund, raised discussion about the struggles faced by early stage high […]
Modern Aging in Singapore
Identifying gaps in serving the needs of the elderly, and share how philanthropists and impact investors can fill these gaps.
Moving Towards Pay For Success (PFS) in Asia
4 min
With an established presence in UK, US and Australia, Third Sector seeks to bring Pay For Success (PFS) projects to Asia to troubleshoot issues of ageing population, healthcare and more.
New EVPA EU Index Card: Public Procurement Reform
Adopted by the European Commission in October 2011, the Social Business Initiative (SBI) aims to improve the situation on the ground for social enterprises, by facilitating their access to finance, making them more visible and optimising their legal environment. EVPA has selected 4 of the SBI Key Actions as being particularly relevant for VP/SI practitioners. Should […]
New Member Feature: Said Business School, University of Oxford
New Member Feature: Said Business School, University of Oxford; an interview with with Bradford Peaston, Business Development Manager.