Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good afternoon.

The Right Honourable Tony Blair eloquently described the rising sustainable development challenges we face today. Their scale and complexity demand urgent collaborative action and bold innovation.

As Seok Hui outlined, there are 4 pivotal enablers that would be critical to accelerate the work of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance. Today, I would like to update on the progress on two of the pillars- first, building momentum for solutioning with our Amplifier programme and Building infrastructure for an impact marketplace through Co-Axis.

About 25% of the US$1 trillion global impact assets under management are being deployed in Asia. This is far below the proportion that Asia represents globally- whether in terms of percentage of the world’s population, or the percentage of global emissions.

Early-stage impact ventures in this region have great ideas and drive but frequently they lack the momentum to survive the ‘valley of death’ and get to the commercial stage. Startups need continued support and access to resources at all growth stages to survive and thrive. They also need access to different pools of capital, and that’s where philanthropic capital can play a role. And we need these innovators to survive and thrive, because they create the solutions that the world needs today.

To support and scale impact innovators in Asia, PAA has partnered with the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices to launch the Amplifier mentorship programme.

We are grateful to Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, a PAA member, for stepping up as the Impact Innovation Partner for the Amplifier. Thanks to their generous support, Amplifier mentees will each receive funding of up to 250 thousand Singapore dollars as part of the programme. They will also access mentorship and expertise from industry veterans to accelerate the growth of their groundbreaking solutions.

Amplifier has only been made possible through the strong support and active participation of over 30 industry partners, including funds, law firms, family offices, and consultants who have joined hands in this effort. I would also like to thank the nearly 20 industry experts who have devoted their time and insights in selecting the first cohort of Amplifier mentees, under the theme of Climate & Nature. We would now like to play a short clip introducing you to the inaugural cohort of Amplifier mentees.

Now, please join me in congratulating the Amplifier’s inaugural cohort. There are seated at a table at the front of the hall to the left of the stage. These 5 promising companies were selected from nearly 140 applicants from 35 countries. They represent a range of innovative and inspiring approaches to address key climate issues for Asia. They will be in Singapore for the next few days to meet their mentors and kick off the programme. We look forward to introducing them to you, and hope that you can also reach out to support them on their commercialisation journey.

As we help impact innovations gain momentum, I offer an analogy that even the best made cars need good roads and good infrastructure to attain maximising performance. Co-Axis is the infrastructure we are building to support these impact innovators on their journeys.

Co-Axis, as Desmond mentioned, is short for Collaborative Action to Xcelerate Impact and Sustainability.

With the committed support of the PAA and leading industry partners, we are developing a digital platform that will unlock risk capital and match funders with founders to support the growth of these innovations, across the capital spectrum.

The core of Co-Axis is its focus on impact accountability as well as measurement. This will ensure capital deployment to companies that are genuinely intent on delivering positive impact.

It also harnesses the power of community, where we can enable the sharing of best practices, data and critical insights through partnership and training opportunities.

Thank you to all our partners who have already joined us on this journey: from generously sharing knowledge and committing to build communities and capabilities on Co-Axis, to sharing the most promising impact opportunities from their ecosystems.

In this initial launch, Co-Axis will offer a curated list of over 70 impact projects from all over the world.

These projects are diverse in nature – spanning impact ventures and social enterprises to non-profits and research projects. They focus on advancing progress in the SDGs of Climate, Health, Employment, Education, amongst others.

All of them are underpinned with a desire and commitment to deliver positive impact at scale.

Whether as a investor or inventor, funder or founder, mentor, or partner, we invite you all to be part of Co-Axis.

The more partners and the wider the global network, the greater the effectiveness of this impact marketplace. Together, we can speed up and scale transformative solutions for positive impact in Asia and beyond.

It gives me great pleasure to officially launch the Co-Axis platform, and share some words from our partners.

Thank you. The Co-Axis booth is at the back of the hall and we invite you to visit, sign up, and join us on our journey.