AVPN, the largest network of social investors in Asia, is having a busy end to the year, recently partnering with Bayer Foundation to tackle the intersectionality of climate and health, while also inviting tenders for its APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0…amongst a number of other initiatives.
APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0
Pressing challenges like escalating sea levels, environmental imbalances, and resource depletion in Asia Pacific demand urgent action. Technology has emerged as a transformative force, offering innovative avenues to address these challenges.
By leveraging the success of the first round of the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund, AVPN continues to mobilise continuum of capital into supporting climate solutions in the region.
AVPN is currently inviting expressions of interest from nonprofits in Asia Pacific with technology-led solutions and innovations to tackle climate and sustainability issues. Its APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0 is a US$5 million catalytic initiative aimed at propelling innovative technology-led solutions that tackle the most pressing climate and sustainability challenges in the Asia Pacific region.
The inaugural Fund was launched in June 2022 and successfully awarded US$3 million to 13 local organisations focused on sustainability solutions for vulnerable and underserved communities in Asia Pacific.
This second phase of the fund will continue to support Asia Pacific-based nonprofits that are addressing key challenges, such as water preservation, circular economy, air quality, waste management, and more.
Selected grantees of the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0 will gain access to a comprehensive range of support, including a grant, networking opportunities, and capacity building.
AVPN is committed to nurturing and amplifying solutions that harness technology for climate adaptation and mitigation, ensuring a positive and lasting impact.
The group is keen on partnering with non-profit organisations that focus on a range of impact areas, including but not limited to:
- Renewable energy and decarbonisation
- Climate adaptation
- Waste management and/or circular economy
- Air quality
- Water preservation
- Biodiversity protection
The APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0 is accepting Expression of Interest until December 15, 2023. For more information click here.
Bayer Foundation collaboration: Climate-Health Pathfinder program
In another development, AVPN announced a partnership with Bayer Foundation at the recent CoP28 Health Day. The Climate-Health Pathfinder program seeks to tackle the intersectionality of climate and health.
Together, the parties intend to build the ecosystem infrastructure for Asian funders to find collaborative pathways to develop their intersectional climate-health strategies — ensuring the agendas are locally owned and led, while enhancing the likelihood of successful deployment of capital.
The program intends to increase awareness of climate and health among social investors in Asia and build a shared understanding of principles for financing climate and health solutions to enable a catalytic role for capital from philanthropy to blended finance.
It will also spotlight local innovative solutions and mobilise capital into investable projects in Asia, amplify Asian led climate and health initiatives, and enhance visibility for pathfinder partners and their work to attract future collaborations.
The intended outcomes of the program are:
- Increased awareness of the intersection of climate and health in the Asian context, as well as funding challenges and opportunities in the region, among social investors in Asia.
- Increased commitments by social investors and other stakeholders to climate-health interventions through resource mobilisation toward high-impact initiatives/solutions Asia.
- Improved flow of investable deals/projects that address the climate and health intersectionality through the development of a dedicated database for social investors.
- Higher representation of Asian climate-health initiatives at global and regional forums, fostering two-way learning between Asian and global stakeholders and enhancing visibility for our partners and program participants.
Those passionate about making a difference at the crossroads of climate action and public health are invited to submit this form.
AVPN Global Conference 2024
AVPN will hold its Global Conference on April 23-25, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, with early bird tickets available until January 15, 2024. The recently updated conference agenda can be found here: https://avpn.asia/conference/
For more on AVPN and its many other social investment initiatives see: https://avpn.asia/