At this year’s Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS), Temasek Trust ecosystem entities – the Centre for Impact investing & Practices (CIIP) and Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) – announced the launch of the Amplifier, with the support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and many other leading organisations such as 500 Global, ABC Impact, Antler, Allen & Overy, Deloitte Singapore, Heritas Capital, Nurasa, PwC Singapore, Rajah & Tann Asia, SATS, Schneider Electric, SOSV, Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator, UOB Venture Management, WongPartnership LLP, and more.
Amplifier is a 12-month mentorship programme which will incubate and support impact-focused start-ups, to help them become commercially viable and sustainable and deliver positive change at scale. Through the programme, these high-impact start-ups will get access to high-quality impact training, professional services, infrastructure such as digital and specialised physical facilities, and embedded mentoring and community.
A pool of catalytic philanthropic capital will also be made available to qualifying mentees, to supercharge their growth and scale their impact.
Bridging the Gap
Impact start-ups often lack funding, and operational or commercial experience. Many early-stage impact ventures in Asia do not survive the “valley of death” – a funding gap between the seed round and early stages of a start-up. They need patient capital and access to different resources at all stages of their growth.
Ms. Shamina Singh, Founder and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, said: “The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth has a theory of change rooted in the belief that enabling access to the networks that power the modern economy can catalyse inclusive economic growth.”
She added that the centre’s support for the Amplifier programme is the latest expression of that theory, and “we look forward to unlocking the promise of high potential start-ups so they can have the impact they imagine for their businesses and beyond”.
A “Whole of Ecosystem” Approach
The mentor-mentee relationship forms the core of the Amplifier programme. Mentees will receive hands-on, practical guidance and access a global network of industry experts as well as potential commercial opportunities.
Mentors will provide strategic guidance and act as or identify reference clients, while gaining early access to innovative business offerings that may address their own problem statements.
Under the programme, partners and mentors offer their networks, experience, and vital professional services in areas such as digital advisory, impact measurement, legal advice, and client management.
Join Us to Support Impact Innovators Working Towards a Better World and Brighter Future
The Amplifier programme invites organisations and individuals to participate as mentors, partners, funders, and/or reference clients by offering their expertise, resources, and support to impact-focused start-ups.
For impact start-ups looking to join as mentees, the call for submissions will take place at SWITCH 2023, a major innovation conference organised by Enterprise Singapore from 31 October to 2 November.
Read more about the Amplifier programme here. For more information, please contact us at [email protected].
