2022 has been an eventful year with important milestones for Temasek Trust. We launched the Centre for Impact Investing & Practices to foster impact investing practices across Asia; initiated the Philanthropy Asia Alliance at the 2nd Philanthropy Asia Summit to prime Asia as a force for good; announced the Temasek Shophouse extension to better support the expanding Singapore social impact ecosystem and partnered with AWWA and Standard Chartered Singapore on a Pay-for-Success programme to uplift underprivileged families.

1 January 2023 marked another key milestone for us, when we welcomed Mr. Desmond Kuek as our new CEO. He was appointed to our Board in August 2022, and brings with him extensive public and private sector experience and expertise across industries.

Desmond takes over from Ms. Cheo Hock Kuan who laid the foundation of Temasek Trust. Moving forward, he will be building on what was achieved by the team, as he helms Temasek Trust in our next phase of growth. In this feature, he shares more on how collaborative philanthropy can be a force for good, the rise of innovative financing such as Pay-For-Success to catalyse positive change to uplift lives, and the way forward for Temasek Trust.

ON COLLABORATIVE PHILANTHROPY AS A FORCE FOR GOOD   

“Global challenges such as climate change and pandemic preparedness are highly complex and cannot be tackled by any one organisation. Collaborating with like-minded partners, across sectors and borders, to effectively address such challenges by driving systemic and sustained positive impact has never been more crucial.  

This is why we initiated the Philanthropy Asia Alliance which recently supported the World Economic Forum’s Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) initiative, alongside over 45 philanthropic partners, with the aim to close the annual US$3 trillion financing gap to bring about equitable nature and climate solutions. 

Together, we can go further, faster.”

ON THE RISE OF INNOVATIVE FINANCING TO DRIVE POSITIVE CHANGE 

“The desire for more transparency and accountability of impact in philanthropy has also given rise to innovative funding models such as Pay-For-Success, which focuses on impact outcomes and enables collaborative giving. 

We are expanding the spectrum of innovative financing to drive positive change. These include impact investing where our US$300M ABC Impact Fund has successfully invested in areas like climate mitigation and healthcare. We provide philanthropic grants to social organisations, research institutions, and think tanks to fund their work. We have also ventured into blended finance such as Pay-For-Success to catalyse impactful solutions to uplift communities, as reflected by our support of AWWA’s Family Empowerment Programme, a pilot of the Pay-For-Success model.  

These new models and partnerships are critical for crowding in more capital and resources to scale up regional and global action on systemic social and environmental issues. Through our work, we aim to inspire and facilitate their rise to tackle emerging environmental and community needs, and foster new ways of multi-sector collaboration to sustain social innovation at scale.” 

ON THE WAY FORWARD FOR TEMASEK TRUST 

“From being an asset-holding trust, Temasek Trust is now forging new pathways in philanthropy and impact investing with the aim of promoting catalytic philanthropy as a force for good.  

Our ecosystem comprises entities in asset and investment management, philanthropy and impact, as well as socio-economic enterprise and development, with the shared purpose of building better for every generation by protecting the planet, uplifting communities, connecting people and advancing capabilities. These include Temasek Foundation, Mandai Nature, Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, Stewardship Asia Centre, and Tri-Sector Associates. We are committed to empowering this ecosystem through capability development and capacity-building. Together, we will harness our combined strengths and networks to scale positive impact within our ecosystem and beyond.  

Collaborative philanthropy is the way forward, and we continue to actively seek like-minded partners who appreciate the potential and impact of Asia to join us in our collective effort.” 

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