• Temasek Trust ecosystem entities – the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices and Philanthropy Asia Alliance – are launching the Amplifier, a mentorship programme aiming to catalyse impact ventures to deliver positive change at scale
• Mastercard and its Center for Inclusive Growth to support Amplifier as impact innovation partner
• One-year programme brings together a range of ecosystem actors including corporates, investors, and professional services providers that will equip impact startups with the tools and skillsets needed to achieve commercial viability and sustainability
• The call for submissions will be launched at Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) in collaboration with Enterprise Singapore at the end of October
  

Singapore, 15 September 2023 – Temasek Trust ecosystem entities – the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP) and Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) – announced the launch of the Amplifier mentorship programme (“Amplifier”) to support impact-focused startups aiming for positive disruption, at the 3^rd Philanthropy Asia Summit. The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth will support the programme as a PAA member, while Mastercard Data & Services unit will provide pro bono digital advisory services to programme participants.

Bridging the Gap

While growing fast, Asia’s slice of the over US$1 trillion global impact market is still small. In 2023, less than 25% of global AUM was estimated to be allocated to Asia (GIIN, 2023).

Many early-stage impact ventures in the region do not survive the ‘valley of death’, a funding gap between the seed round and early stages of a startup. Start-ups need continued support and access to different resources at all growth stages.  

A mechanism is needed to effectively identify high-potential impact business models, introduce impact practices at an early stage, and bring together different sources of patient capital, opportunities, and skills to help such companies scale.

The Amplifier aims to address Asia’s sustainable development challenges by enabling promising impact start-ups to bridge the ‘valley of death’ through building an ecosystem of industry players to catalyse philanthropic capital, mobilise collective action, and forge new pathways to create positive impact.

A ‘Whole-of-Ecosystem’ Approach to Support Impact Innovators to Scale

The Amplifier is a 12-month programme focused on capacity building and developing a path to sustainability for high impact start-ups. A pool of catalytic philanthropic capital will also be made available to qualifying mentees to supercharge their growth and scale their impact.

The mentor-mentee relationship is at the core of the Amplifier programme. Mentees will receive hands-on, practical mentorship and be able to access a global network of industry professionals and potential commercial opportunities through the year. Mentors will support mentees by providing strategic guidance and acting as or identifying reference clients, while gaining early access to innovative business offerings that may address their own problem statements.

Further, the programme will draw on a wealth of experience and expertise brought by its partners, who come from the Temasek Trust ecosystem and beyond. The Amplifier is grateful and proud to count as partners leading organisations in their respective fields, including the following:

• Impact Innovation Partner Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth will support the programme as a member of the PAA, while Mastercard Data & Services unit will provide pro bono digital advisory services to programme participants.
• Programme Delivery Partners Deloitte Singapore and Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator will each offer their expertise to support the creation and delivery of the incubation and acceleration programme; ABC Impact, the Singapore-based Asia-focused impact investment fund, will provide an impact lens to the programme, as well as share its impact measurement and management expertise with mentees  
• Advisory Partners including financial and business advisory outfits like Deloitte Singapore and PwC Singapore and legal advisors such as Allen & Overy, Rajah & Tann Asia, and WongPartnership LLP will offer vital professional services across their respective areas of expertise and knowledge, both on an in-kind basis and at subsidised rates  
• Industry Partners such as 500 Global, Antler, Heritas Capital, Nurasa, SATS, Schneider Electric, SOSV, and UOB Venture Management will provide hands-on mentorship and guidance based on deep industry and / or technical expertise, as well as support identification of commercial opportunities such as pilot projects with reference clients

“The Philanthropy Asia Alliance aims to harness collective strengths to catalyse Asian solutions for global environmental and social challenges. We set up the Amplifier to support impact innovators – their success is ours too. By working together, we can unlock possibilities not just for Asia, but the world,” said Mr. Ryan Tan, Director, Philanthropy Asia Alliance. 

“Through the Amplifier, we aim to address Asia’s sustainable development challenges by catalysing philanthropic capital, mobilising collective action, and forging new pathways to scale promising impact innovators. There are many ways to get involved and we invite more like-minded partners to join us in amplifying our collective impact,” said Ms. Koh Lin-Net, Director, Centre for Impact Investing & Practices.   

“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 catalyze inclusive economic growth,” said Ms. Shamina Singh, Founder and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “The Center’s support for the Amplifier mentorship program 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.”

Call for Partners

The success of the Amplifier is underpinned by partnerships. The programme welcomes the participation of organisations and individuals driven to make a difference by contributing their expertise, influence, and resources to support impact companies. One can partner with the Amplifier by becoming a funder, mentor, and/or a reference client by piloting or trialling a company’s products and/or services and providing feedback, as well as offering in-kind resources, services, and advice.

Call for Submissions

Qualifying criteria for impact start-ups to participate as mentees in the Amplifier include:

• Alignment to theme: In line with the impact pillars of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, the inaugural cohort will be ventures in the Climate and Nature space, spanning Energy and Power, Sustainable Food and Land Conservation, Oceans Conservation, Circularity and Waste, Cities and Settlements, and Transition Enablers
• Intention to create positive impact, in line with the year’s themes
• Currently serves Asian markets, or plans to  
• Early evidence of product market fit
• Ambition for financial viability and sustainability   

The call for submissions for the Amplifier will take place at SWITCH 2023, organised by Enterprise Singapore. The flagship conference will return for its eighth edition from 31 October – 2 November, bringing together corporates, investors, and startups across the global innovation ecosystem to address the key issues of today.  

More information about the Amplifier can be found here https://philanthropyasiaalliance.org/the-amplifier

Want to find out more? Drop us an email at [email protected]

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Note to Editors:

About Philanthropy Asia Alliance

Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) is a Temasek Trust initiative dedicated to catalysing collaborative philanthropy in Asia through dynamic multi-sector partnerships. By harnessing collective strengths, PAA multiplies impact, accelerates positive change, and takes urgent action to address the pressing environmental and social challenges of our time. PAA’s flagship programme is the annual Philanthropy Asia Summit, supported by Temasek Trust and Temasek Foundation. PAS features Calls to Action to foster innovation, drive momentum, and scale impact in addressing environmental and social challenges. For more information, visit  http://philanthropyasiaalliance.org

About the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP)

The Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (“CIIP”) was established in 2022 as a non-profit entity by Temasek Trust to foster impact investing and practices in Asia and beyond. CIIP is the anchor partner for SGD Impact, the United Nations Development Programme initiative tasked to develop resources that accelerate investments towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) by 2030. Through this partnership, Asia investors and businesses are provided with clarity, insights and tools that support their contributions towards achieving the SDGs. Temasek and ABC Impact are CIIP’s strategic partners. For more information, please visit www.ciip.com.sg

About the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs and empower a community of thinkers, leaders and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on LinkedIn, Instagram and subscribe to its newsletter. www.mastercardcenter.org

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