AVPN's APAC Sustainability Seed Fund awards grants totaling USD 3 million to 13 sustainability innovators

~ Through the Fund, AVPN is empowering local impact organisations to drive transformative change in communities they serve ~

~ 13 NGO grantees working to combat climate changes through technology innovation are announced at Asian Development Bank's SEAD Symposium 2023 ~

BALI, Indonesia, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), Asia's largest network of social investors announced the selection of 13 NGO grantees of the Asia-Pacific Sustainability Seed Fund at Asian Development Bank's Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) 2023 today. The APAC Sustainability Seed Fund is supported by Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Local community is leveraging technology to support their waste management and circular economy.

The Asia-Pacific region, especially its low-lying and small island countries, is extremely vulnerable to the disastrous impacts of climate change such as extreme precipitation events, heat waves, rising sea levels and loss of biodiversity. The APAC Sustainability Seed Fund was set up by AVPN to support the most innovative tech-driven solutions to combat climate change and drive sustainability in the region.

The 13 selected NGOs include:

1. Alam Sehat Lestari

Alam Sehat Lestari has supported community-designed solutions preserving 108,000 ha of critical rainforests in Indonesian Borneo. ASRI will develop the Rainforest Exchange (RX) platform to provide more accurate and accessible information on forest and carbon loss which are critical in the effort to fight deforestation.

2. Azure Alliance

Azure Alliance is a non-profit organisation committed to promoting clean water resources as well as the maintenance of marine and freshwater ecosystems without pollution. They are developing an Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle to remove floating debris such as plastics from harbors, lakes, ponds, and waterways.

3. Border Green Energy Team Foundation

Border Green Energy Team is a registered Thai foundation working to provide renewable energy solutions and technical education. They are increasing access to renewable energy for rural villages along the Thailand-Myanmar border.

4. Coalition for Our Common Future

Coalition for Our Common Future is a 'Think and Do Platform' based in South Korea contributing to the global target of achieving Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth. They leverage information technology solutions such as cloud technology and big data analytics to increase access to renewable energy.

5. Engineering Good

Engineering Good is a Singapore-based non-profit organisation that champions inclusivity for disadvantaged communities using engineering and technology solutions. They repurpose and upcycle technology devices, to enable access to technology for the underprivileged.

6. Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust

Mahila Housing Trust aims at developing an AI enabled poor women led model for climate resilience for Amalner, Maharashtra which will serve as an archetype of a small urban town in India. It will pioneer the capture of land use as a parameter to map the catchment area to ensure protection of natural drain systems.

7. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is an independent, nonprofit environmental policy think tank that aims to establish a closed island recycling system for plastic and other waste on Samet Island, Rayong, Thailand.

8. Ocean Recovery Alliance

Ocean Recovery Alliance is an NGO focused on creating innovative solutions and collaborations to improve the health of the ocean. They plan to scale up the implementation of Global Alert, an innovative online tool which increases interaction and connectivity to the issues of plastic in the waters by allowing users to report, rate, and map plastic pollution levels in their watersheds.

9. TGECA 

TGECA focuses on energy inequality, making sure no one is left behind by developing tools to quickly detect the vulnerability of vulnerable groups to electricity consumption under climate change.

10. Uncharted Waters ltd

Uncharted Waters Ltd is a not-for-profit, data-driven climate start-up in Australia that provides real-time evidence of climate impacts on water and food security, and explores to what extent these impacts are potentially worsened (or mitigated) by ongoing climate change.

11. Villgro Innovation Foundation

Villgro is a non - profit organisation based in India that focuses on supporting social innovations that have the potential for democratising innovation / technology and delivering impact at scale. In partnering with CultYvate, they are leveraging AI/IOT led tech to enable precise Alternate Wetting & Drying and irrigation techniques.

12. Water Stewardship Asia Pacific

Water Stewardship Asia Pacific was formed as a response to the millennium drought in Australia. It seeks to develop a range of ICT based tools that will catalyse the delivery of the program to water-using and dependent businesses,stakeholders and communities.

13. Yayasan Solar Chapter Indonesia

Yayasan Solar Chapter Indonesia (Solar Chapter) is a non-profit organisation with a focus on advancing sustainable development in Indonesian rural areas vulnerable to climate disasters. They are developing WaterIQ, a leveraged IoT and cloud computing platform to optimize the monitoring of solar- powered water systems in East Nusa Tenggara.

Speaking on the occasion, Dini Indrawati, Indonesian Country Director, AVPN, said that the USD 3 million APAC Sustainability Seed Fund makes it possible for the most innovative non-profit sustainability initiatives to help vulnerable and underserved communities across eight markets to adapt and mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change.

"When we announced the Fund in June 2022, our main aim was to build bridges and foster collaboration among funders and impact organisations. Local impact organisations are developing innovative climate actions using technology like AI which combined with their on-ground expertise –is evolving sustainability practices that are truly successful and tailored to the unique needs of markets in the Asia Pacific. Funding is, therefore, vital to ensure they continue their work to combat climate change and secure the future of the region," Dini added.

"We are proud to support AVPN through our philanthropic arm, Google.org, to identify and assist sustainability champions in the APAC region who are helping local communities mitigate the impacts of climate change. We hope to inspire other organisations to come forward, and support grassroots changemakers across the region. I'd like to congratulate all the selected NGOs for receiving this funding award and look forward to the great work that will undoubtedly emerge from their now accelerated efforts," said Michaela Browning, Vice President - Government Affairs and Public Policy for Asia-Pacific, Google.

About AVPN

AVPN is the world's largest network of social investors in Asia, with over 600+ diverse members across 33 markets. Their mission is to close the SDG gaps in Asia, by enabling their members to increase the flow of financial, human, and intellectual capital towards impact. Through sharing knowledge and innovating collaborations between policymakers, family offices, foundations and the private sector, AVPN improves the effectiveness of capital deployed; bringing to bear the local field needs, regional expertise, and policy insights. 

As organizers of the AVPN Global Conference—the world's largest networking event for Social Investors in Asia—their focus is to put Asian voices at the forefront of global discourse; with the output of the convening to be added to the main agenda of the upcoming G20. The event is also leveraged by the social investor ecosystem to form and announce new partnerships, innovate catalytic funding vehicles, and share best practices that ultimately move more capital toward impact.

About APAC Sustainability Seed Fund:

The APAC Sustainability Seed Fund is a landmark initiative by AVPN, with support from Google.org and Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the strategic and outreach partner. The Fund was set up by AVPN to support the most innovative tech-driven solutions to combat climate change and drive sustainability in the region.

https://avpn.asia/philanthropic-fund/apac-sustainability-seed-fund/

About SEADS Symposium 2023:

https://seads.adb.org/symposium/SEADS2023