Wang Xing, Founder of Meituan, gives big. Wang recently donated over US$2 billion worth of shares in the food-delivery giant to his philanthropic foundation. Meituan said the funds will go towards education and scientific research. Wang’s donation is in line with the recent trend of Chinese tech billionaires substantially increasing their philanthropic giving. Continue reading in The Wall Street Journal →

Companies in Asia set up Covid-19 inoculation programs for employees and their families. In India, companies including HCL, Bajaj Auto and Samsung India have launched employee vaccination campaigns. Japanese companies are also stepping up and inoculating employees, which will help the government double the number of daily vaccinations to 1 million. Companies in Southeast Asia rolled out similar initiatives in the second quarter of this year.

Terry Gou, Founder of Foxconn, pledges US$228 million to purchase 5 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines as Taiwan sees a spike in Covid-19 infections. The donation is expected to also cover the cost of transportation, cold chain logistics and storage, distribution, and administration. Continue reading in Taiwan News →

92% of youth-led enterprises in the Asia Pacific negatively impacted by Covid-19, according to Youth Co:Lab. The organization—co-created by UNDP and Citi Foundation—recently launched their report, “How Young Entrepreneurs in Asia-Pacific Responded to COVID-19.” It discloses how lockdowns, shrinking demand, supply chain disruptions and a credit crunch challenged these enterprises. They responded by pivoting business strategy, launching new products and services, and transforming business models. The report also showcases over 40 innovative youth-led solutions aiding the region’s Covid-19 recovery.

Japan’s impact investing market has potential to grow to ¥2.64 trillion (approximately US$24 billion). The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG-NAB) Japan recently launched their report, “The Current State and Challenges of Impact Investing in Japan.” It highlights trends in impact investing—including growing interest from corporates and the issuance of Japan’s first sustainability-linked bond—and forecasts market size. This is encouraging news as there is much room for growth; according to CAPS’ study Business for Good, only 9% of social enterprises in Japan receive private investment.

Asian philanthropists pool US$1.5 million to contribute 600,000 doses towards COVAX global Covid-19 vaccine target. Singapore-based Asia Philanthropy Circle raised this funding from 10 philanthropists and philanthropic organizations. Their pooled donation will be matched by a public charity through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, bringing total funding to US$3 million. Continue reading on Asia Philanthropy Circle’s website →

Have a story to share? Contact us at research@caps.org.

Amid an oxygen shortage in India, businesses and NGOs are stepping in to aid India’s Covid-19 fight. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is supplying oxygen from Reliance’s refineries in Jamnagar to Maharashtra at no cost. Indian tech startups Zomato and Paytm have launched donation drives on their platforms to help provide oxygen concentrators. NGOs Hemkunt Foundation and Khalsa Aid India are helping source and distribute oxygen cylinders. NGO Red Crescent Society is leading an initiative to distribute oxygen cylinders through mosques in the Mumbai metropolitan region. Other actors are also stepping in: Star Special Air Gases Private Limited, a gas plant in Manesar, is refilling oxygen cylinders for free. As cases and deaths surge across the country, the government recently announced that spending by corporates for setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary Covid-19 care facilities will qualify as CSR activities under the companies law.

Tencent’s Pony Ma pledges US$7.7 billion of the social-media giant’s money for social causes. This fresh bequest—19 times the company’s donations last year—will go to projects ranging from rural development to carbon neutrality. It will also go towards investing in startups, which aligns with President Xi’s blueprint for national development. Continue reading in Reuters →

Community pantries offer reprieve from Covid-19 hardships in the Philippines. What began as a humble cart with free food has grown into over 300 donation-driven pantries across the country. This multi-sector effort to provide food and essential items to those in need has become an important service as the country faces one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the region. However, unsubstantiated claims by local police and a government task force that these pantries are affiliated with insurgents, a practice called ‘red-tagging’, has led to concern about the safety of volunteers. Continue reading in The Washington Post →

Li Ka Shing Foundation donates HK$30 million (approximately US$4 million) to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The donation will go towards the expansion of research facilities at the Institute of Health Sciences. The institute was officially opened 14 years ago with support from Li’s foundation, and has developed into the flagship translational biomedical research center in the region. Continue reading in The Standard →

Ride hailing company Uber and NGO HelpAge India help aid vaccination efforts with free rides. Uber’s partnership with NGO HelpAge India will provide 25,000 free rides over the coming months to facilitate the vaccination of the vulnerable and disadvantaged elderly in 19 cities. This follows an earlier initiative where Uber provided 60,000 free rides to aid India’s vaccination drive. Continue reading in The Times of India →

Have a story to share? Contact us at research@caps.org.

Our DECODED series unpacks, explains and crystallizes issues critical for social investment in Asia. DECODED draws upon CAPS’ expertise in research, and access to an extensive network of sector experts and philanthropists in 18 Asian economies. This enables us to identify emerging trends in the region. Through DECODED, we translate these concepts into bite-sized, easy-to-understand insights.

This inaugural DECODED synthesizes how the social sector across Asia has risen to the occasion in responding to Covid-19, and what comes next. We end with recommendations for philanthropists, corporates and policymakers who want to invest in helping Asia’s social sectors thrive.

Record SG$102 million (approximately US$76 million) donated on Giving.sg in past year, surpassing previous annual records. Around 600 charities received these donations, according to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). Like last year, Giving.sg has waived the 3% transaction fee for next year, meaning charities will continue to receive the full amount of the donation. Continue reading in The Straits Times →

Grab announces US$275 million GrabForGood Fund to provide funding and vaccine support. Grab will seed the fund with US$50 million in cash and US$200 million in Grab shares. Grab Group’s CEO and Co-founder Anthony Tan, Co-founder Tan Hooi Ling, and President Ming Maa also pledged a combined US$25 million in personal contributions of Grab shares. The fund’s first initiative will provide Covid-19 vaccine support for Grab partners, followed by grants and financial support for long-term social and environmental impact benefiting communities across Southeast Asia. Continue reading in Yahoo! Finance →

San Miguel Corporation’s new food donation drive to benefit 184,000 families in lockdown areas. As coronavirus cases rise in the Philippines, the conglomerate is ramping up its food donation efforts. This follows past donations to the country’s Covid-19 response, which have totaled over PHP13 billion (approximately US$268 million) of food aid, medical equipment and other forms of assistance. Continue reading in CNN Philippines →

Corporate India plans Covid-19 vaccination drive for its employees. Major companies—including Reliance Industries, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services—have committed to vaccinating eligible employees and their families free of cost. The government plans to qualify such expenditure as part of a company’s CSR obligations, as long as it is part of a community-based vaccination project. Continue reading in The Economic Times →

Neera Nundy, co-founder and partner at Dasra, underscores the role of family philanthropy. Nundy outlines how India can accelerate the impact of family philanthropy, the corpus of which tripled in the past year. In fostering more collaboration, family philanthropy can play a more central role—as partners to government and nonprofits—in driving more sustainable change. Continue reading in Forbes India →

Have a story to share? Contact us at research@caps.org.

This report combines economy-specific analyses of social enterprises across South East Asia, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. An estimated one million social enterprises exist across these economies. This report highlights the activities that social enterprises are engaged in, the range of beneficiaries, as well as their size and reach. The diverse types and sources of support social enterprises receive are also discussed. Read it here.

Individual reports can be accessed here:

• Hong Kong
• Vietnam
• Thailand
• Philippines
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• Indonesia

Korea’s Kim Bong-jin and his wife Bomi Sul are the latest to sign the Giving Pledge, vowing to donate half of their wealth. Kim Bong-jin is founder and CEO of Woowa Brothers, which created Korea’s largest food-delivery app. Kim and his wife are the first Koreans to sign the Giving Pledge, an initiative started in 2010 by billionaires Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates to encourage the ultra-rich to give away most of their fortunes to philanthropy. This follows a recent announcement by Korean billionaire Kim Beom-su, who also pledged to donate over half of his wealth to charitable causes. Continue reading in Bloomberg →

I(x) Investments, co-founded by Warren Buffet’s grandson, is among those turning to Asia for impact investing. I(x) Investments has brought together more than 65 of the world’s wealthiest families from 14 countries to invest in climate and sustainability issues. The company is among those looking to Asia both to attract new impact investors and to allocate funds to. One of its biggest bets in the region is WasteFuel, a startup developing technology to convert municipal waste into jet fuel. With plans to build a US$700 million plant in the Philippines and replicate this model in other Asian countries, the startup has already received investment from several I(x) families, including Filipino billionaire Enrique Razon. Continue reading in Bloomberg →

Tata STRIVE and Wipro GE Healthcare partner up to bridge healthcare skill gap in India. As part of the CSR partnership, Wipro GE Healthcare will design, develop and implement industry-relevant training to help underprivileged students achieve gainful employment. Tata STRIVE, the skills development CSR initiative of the Tata Community Initiatives Trust, will provide the candidates loans upon qualifying for the course. The partnership aims to skill 6,200 candidates over a period of three years. Continue reading in The CSR Journal →

IKEA partners with local social enterprise Rags2Riches in the Philippines. The Swedish multi-national company is opening its first store in the Philippines and tapping the services of Rags2Riches for a three-year partnership. Rags2Riches, a social enterprise which employs female artisans from low-income communities to create sustainable fashion and home products, will be providing sewing services in IKEA’s Philippines store. As highlighted in CAPS’ study, Business for Good: Maximizing the Value of Social Enterprises in Asia, procuring from social enterprises like this is a win-win strategy that can advance sustainable consumption as well as provide the funding and capacity building support social enterprises need to grow. Continue reading in BusinessWorld →

The GiveIndia Fundraising Challenge 2021, India’s biggest fundraising event, is helping NGOs raise crores in funds. Nearly 200 nonprofits have already raised over Rs 2 crores (approximately US$275,000) since the challenge began on February 1. The challenge will run till March 28 and is expected to raise more than Rs 15 crore (approximately US$2 million) by then. Since the timing coincides with the end of the financial year, NGOs typically leverage tax savings donors would get for donating to them to appeal for funds. Continue reading in the Business Standard →

Have a story to share? Contact us at research@caps.org.

BRAC, the world’s largest NGO, rethinks its future. As Covid-19 continues to restrict its ability to work outside of Bangladesh, BRAC is aiming to expand its partnerships and engage more in advocacy work to scale its impact. The NGO’s shift to focus on capacity building and policy shines light on what the future of development work may look like after Covid-19. Others in the space, such as Oxfam, also foresee a shift to a partnership model rather than a direct delivery model. Continue reading in Devex →

Companies ranging from global brands to small businesses are offering pandemic aid to Thailand’s migrant workers. After the country’s recent spike in coronavirus cases, companies have stepped up to provide immediate supplies for migrant workers, who are mostly from Myanmar. CP Foods, Thai Union Group, and Osotspa have donated food and drink supplies, alongside global brands like PepsiCo and Mars. True Corp also joined the effort by donating mobile phone SIM cards to provide internet access for the migrant worker community. Continue reading in Reuters →

For Indian companies, spending on vaccine campaigns will count as CSR. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs declared that expenditure by Indian companies on awareness campaigns around the Covid-19 vaccination rollout could be counted towards their mandated CSR. Corporate spending on vaccine research and development as well as medical devices will also qualify. With these new changes, corporates are now lobbying for the vaccination of employees to also be included under the umbrella of CSR spending. Continue reading in India CSR →

Chinese philanthropy takes new shape amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. During the first half of 2020, Chinese philanthropists contributed more than US$2.82 billion to fight Covid-19. According to the report, Pandemic Philanthropy: Exploring Chinese Donors’ Embrace of Covid-19 R&D Funding, the pandemic spurred a shift in philanthropic giving from providing physical goods to focusing on research and development. This report discusses this welcome trend of investing in longer-terms needs, as well as other notable shifts in Chinese philanthropy during the pandemic. Continue reading in The Nonprofit Times →

The Philippines’ PLDT is bridging the digital divide in education’s new normal. In 2016, Smart Communications, a subsidiary of PLDT, launched “School-in-a-Bag”, a portable digital classroom designed to facilitate learning in remote areas using mobile technology. Each kit contains a laptop for the teacher, 20 tablets for students that can access interactive apps offline, and a Smart LTE pocket WiFi for teachers to download additional content. As kids rely even more on digital technology to continue learning in the pandemic, PLDT has donated an additional 86 digital classroom kits to the Department of Education this school year. Since its launch, the “School-in-a-Bag” kits have reached 80,000 students and 2,000 teachers across the Philippines. Continue reading in the Manila Standard →

The Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation was recently launched to educate and empower schoolgirls in Greater China to become leaders in a digitalized economy. The new charity was launched by Jennifer Yu Cheng, executive director of Chow Tai Fook and wife of Adrian Cheng, executive vice-chairman and chief executive of New World Development. The foundation will partner with NGOs and other institutions to extend scholarships to teenage girls in underprivileged communities, starting with China’s Guizhou province. The foundation will also work to empower girls in Hong Kong with improved tech skills and wider exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. Continue reading in the South China Morning Post →

Azim Premji sells shares worth Rs 9,000 crore in buyback, benefitting his two philanthropic trusts. The Azim Premji Trust and Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives will earn Rs 7,807 crore (over US$1 billion) from this, making them one of the largest charitable trusts in the region. Both organizations focus on education, nutrition, and issues related to vulnerable groups including street children, people with disabilities, and survivors of domestic violence. Continue reading in the Times of India →

Have a story to share? Contact us at research@caps.org.

We welcome 2021 with hope, not only for successful vaccination programs, but also for a year of recovery and rebuilding.

THE GIVERS

National Legacy Giving initiative to inspire philanthropic culture in Singapore. According to a Social Pulse Survey, there is a disconnect between awareness and action when it comes to legacy giving in Singapore. While the majority of respondents (83%) are aware of legacy giving, only 33% are considering it, and only 3% would follow through in planning such a bequest. In an effort to make legacy giving more common, The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) has launched a three-year national legacy giving initiative, titled, “A Greater Gift”. The initiative will work in partnership with wealth advisors and ambassadors—individuals who share why they chose to pursue legacy giving—to facilitate more awareness and planning. CFS will also support charities, especially smaller ones, which may not be equipped to engage legacy donors.

THE NONPROFITS

How a Bengaluru NGO raised Rs220 crore for fight against coronavirus. The India COVID Response Fund, a collective crowdfunding campaign by nonprofit GiveIndia has raised over Rs220 crore (approximately US$30 million) since its launch in March this year. The fund received early support from well-known foundations, high-net-worth individuals, and businesses, which helped spur further giving from individuals around the world. So far the fund has disbursed Rs190 crore (approximately US$26 million) in cash relief, humanitarian aid, and healthcare support to frontline workers through its network of verified nonprofits.

THE BUSINESSES

Businesses continue providing relief aid in the wake of Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses. The Philippines’ leading companies, including Ayala Group, SM Malls, and MVP Group, have ramped up relief efforts to help communities affected by recent super typhoons. To encourage more cash aid from abroad, the remittance service unit of the Philippines’ BDO Unibank is waving charges on typhoon donations from overseas Filipinos until December 31. The bank’s philanthropic arm, the BDO Foundation, has also distributed relief packs containing food, rice, and drinking water to more than 260,000 families in affected cities and municipalities. Foreign companies are also stepping up: fashion giant H&M donated US$200,000 to the Red Cross to meet the needs of 260,000 people affected in Vietnam and the Philippines. Japanese retailer Uniqlo donated US$1 million in aid through the SM Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Philippines’ SM Group.

DBS steps up support for social enterprises with a record SG$9 million (approximately US$6.8 million) in grants and loans this year. DBS Bank has increased its financial support to help social enterprises cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic through two new initiatives this year: the DBS Foundation Business Transformation and Improvement Grant and the DBS Foundation Social Impact Prize. The DBS Foundation has also continued its flagship DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Program. Last week the foundation announced that SG$1.4 million (approximately US$1 million) has been awarded to 13 social enterprises in its 2020 cohort.

PwC India to upskill 300 million young people in India over the next 10 years. PwC India announced the launch of its new collaborative initiative aimed at bridging the digital gap and upskilling 300 million young people in India over the next 10 years. This is part of PwC’s global collaboration with UNICEF and Generational Unlimited, a multi-sector partnership aimed at helping 1.8 billion young people transition from school to work by 2030. The program will act as a catalyst by working with a range of public and private stakeholders to create equitable opportunities for young people through enhanced employability and earnings potential. PwC India will provide broad support across three areas: Economic Opportunities and Employability, 21st Century Skilling and Learning, and Youth Engagement.

THE INNOVATORS

BillionBricks: the Singapore social enterprise tackling homelessness by building solar homes in the Philippines. Social enterprise BillionBricks is known for its pioneering invention, the WeatherHYDE emergency tent, which has been distributed around the world. However, in recognizing that this tent model was only an interim housing solution, the founders developed the BillionBricks Home: the world’s first self-financing, carbon-negative solar home solution. Each BillionBricks Home is equipped with solar panels that produce four times more energy than what is consumed, allowing families to sell unused energy to the grid and generate additional income. Prototypes for the BillionBricks Home have already been built in India and the Philippines, and in 2022 the first community of 500 solar homes will be built in the Philippines. If this model succeeds, BillionBricks plans to scale its solar-powered community globally by sharing its self-sustaining model as a playbook for organizations around the world to replicate.

Indonesians take local approach to massive problem of food waste. According to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2018 Food Sustainability Index, Indonesia ranked 53rd out of 67 countries on food loss and waste. This Nikkei Asia article highlights Indonesian social sector organizations working to bridge the gap between food wastage and food insecurity. For instance, Garda Pangan redistributed discarded food from restaurants, local farmers, and business partners to provide 144,000 meals. Volunteer-led Foodbank of Indonesia has collected 1,200 tons of food this year alone that would have otherwise been wasted. While there is still a lack of awareness around food loss and waste in Indonesia, this article highlights the importance of social sector organizations in bringing attention to the issue and meeting immediate nutritional needs.

THE VOLUNTEERS

HealthServe’s Goh Wei-Leong shares how his nonprofit pivoted during Covid-19. As a medical doctor, Goh Wei-Leong co-founded the nonprofit HealthServe to provide marginalized migrant workers in Singapore with healthcare, counseling and social assistance. When Singapore’s Covid-19 outbreak led to the overnight loss of 95% of its medical volunteers, HealthServe had to pivot. The nonprofit rapidly launched teleconsultation services to make up for the shortfall and escalated the roll-out of mental wellness initiatives such as a virtual tele-counseling clinic and group intervention sessions. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, volunteers still remained engaged digitally and Goh credits the organization’s success to its volunteers: “The pandemic brought out the best among our volunteers and it shows that in the midst of struggling, there is a ray of hope.”

We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at research@caps.org.