Sustainability

Singapore’s UOB The FinLab launches The Greentech Accelerator to support greentech startups

Singapore UOB innovation accelerator The FinLab unveiled Thursday The Greentech Accelerator, a new, global programme aimed at supporting innovative greentech solution providers regionally and globally to drive their company’s sustainable mission forward. As part of the first cohort, the programme will focus on greentech solutions including energy…

Singapore’s OCBC Bank partners Digital Exchange MVGX to develop new green financing solutions

Singapore's OCBC Bank and MetaVerse Green Exchange (MVGX), a digital green exchange licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, on Monday announced a strategic partnership to develop new green financing solutions aimed at accelerating large corporates’ journey to carbon neutrality.

Vietnam sustainability firm EQUO raises $1.3M seed funding led by NextGen Ventures

Vietnam-based sustainability company EQUO said Tuesday it has raised $1.3 million seed funding led by NextGen Ventures with participation from Techstars and East Ventures. Prominent angel investors Luke Vigeant of Shed Capital; Jeff Hohner of Tecumseh Capital; Jack Tai, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of OneClass; Mark Groves, Founder of Create The…

Singapore’s Sunseap to develop large-scale solar energy and storage plants in Riau Islands, Indonesia

Singapore's largest clean energy solutions provider Sunseap Group has on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the provincial government of Indonesia's Riau Islands to develop large-scale solar energy and storage plants that will supply electricity to the Riau Islands and Singapore.The MoU covers the availability of 3,000 hectares of land…

How investors can navigate the confusion of ESG ratings

Sustainable investment needs to be powered by data, and the problem of ESG data today is that it is mostly fragmented, and whatever is available is a historical snapshot of self-disclosures with little value to forward-looking risk assessments. Technology is a key enabler to addressing these gaps and can make data higher quality, more consistent, and…

Singapore private equity firm Azalea launches first sustainability fund

Azalea Investment Management Pte. Ltd. (Azalea) has launched the Altrium Sustainability Fund I (ASF I), which will invest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused opportunities to achieve positive environmental and social outcomes alongside private equity financial returns. ASF I is a PE fund-of-funds product that enables institutional and…

Singapore’s Handprint raises $2.2M seed funding led by Thunes

Handprint has raised $2.2 million in seed funding led by leading payments network Thunes, with participation from other angel investors. The funding will be used to further build Handprint’s technology and expand its network of impact partners, helping to advance Handprint’s mission to transform the extractive economy into a regenerative economy - making it…

East Ventures becomes Indonesia’s first venture capital firm to sign UN Principles for Responsible Investment

East Ventures has officially become a UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) signatory as part of its commitment to creating responsible and sustainable investment and ownership decisions. It becomes Indonesia's first venture capital firm listed as a signatory; which further strengthens its belief that the implementation of the environmental,…

Australia’s New Forests announces first close of SE Asia-focused fund at $120M

New Forests announced Thursday the first close of its Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2 (TAFF2) with $120 million of capital commitments. Investors in the first close include Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Australian Government, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SuMi TRUST), Temasek and TotalEnergies. New Forests will continue to…

Meatless food & plastic-free packaging trends driving innovations in APAC, says Mi Terro CEO Robert Luo [ORIGIN Innovation Awards Q&A]

Luo also shared what are the challenges faced by businesses in the context of sustainability and his firm's strategies to overcome these challenges.