Impact SEA

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According to a report by World Psychiatry, South Asian countries comprise one-quarter of the world’s population and approximately 150–200 million people in this region have a diagnosed psychiatric disorder and limited access to mental health. 

Despite the significant burden of illness and growing international emphasis, the mental health infrastructure in this region is relatively weak, with less than 1% of the total national budgets allocated to it. There is also a shortage of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, clinical psychologists, as well as social workers. Pre-COVID-19 estimates reveal that nearly US$ 1 trillion in economic productivity is lost annually from depression and anxiety alone.

This ongoing pandemic isn’t doing the world a favour either. A survey by WHO estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing. The twin terror of a pandemic in a region where mental health issues are rampant and improperly dealt with, could spell disaster for a country in ways more than just the economy. In addition to the limitations in resource allocation, the lack of community awareness toward mental health and prevailing stigma further limits the number of patients that actively seek health care. 

What is the state of solutions available for mental health issues in Southeast Asia? How do we tailor our solutions to properly suit the region? What opportunities do stakeholders have to make a significant impact?

To answer these questions, I speak to Dr Kanpassorn Eix,  Founder of Ooca, for her expert insights on the significance of mental health in Asia and the innovative solutions in the region.

Every business and every industry sector has a role to play in making change happen. But what role do businesses and brands have in changing the behaviours of their consumers?

According to a report from the IFC World Bank, the market potential for global impact investing is huge - as much as $269 trillion—the financial assets held by institutions and households across the world—is potentially available for investment. Directing just 10% of this amount into projects focused on improving social and environmental outcomes would go a long way toward providing the necessary funding for the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In fact, a report done by Quest Ventures shows that despite the relatively small size of SEA, its impact investing ecosystem has developed significantly over the past 10 years. More than USD904 million has been injected via 225 direct deals by Private Impact investors (PIIs) and the numbers are in the billions for Developmental Financial Institutions (DFIs), the SEA’s impact investing ecosystem has developed significantly in the past decade. Seeing the increased interest in SEA, how do we further attract more impact investors to the scene? One of the methods is to use public relations (PR) to effect real action and change.

How then do businesses, big or small, embed sustainability into the heart of corporations and brands for commercial and societal impact and how can companies use public relations to take up a more dynamic role; as an agent for change and attract investors? What gaps are there in company sustainability strategies that can be addressed by PR?

To answer these questions, I speak to Sarah Craggs, Sustainability Practice Lead, MullenLowe salt, for her expert insights.

Do you have a home? If you do, you’re luckier than more than one billion people in the world without a roof over their heads.

In spite of all the advancements of the modern world, there are still more than one billion people  without a home; a number set to double by 2030. 

In fact, according to the World Bank, in Southeast Asia alone, more than 37% of Southeast Asia’s urban population lives in slums and poor living conditions. 

However, how accurately can we determine the level of homelessness? According to the Homelessness World Cup Foundation, it isn’t as easy as we thought. Getting an accurate picture of global homelessness is one of the biggest challenges as census data often fails to include those who may be residing in inadequate settlements such as slums, squatting in structures not intended for housing, couch surfing with friends and family, and those who relocate frequently. 

Furthermore, the problem of homelessness is extremely unique for each country - there’s no one size fits all solution. Size, region or economic strength, all come into play when designing a solution for homelessness. 

With such large problems with data collection, how then can we effectively tackle the problem of homelessness? What are some practical steps that have been taken to resolve the housing crisis in Southeast Asia?

To answer these questions, I speak to Prasoon Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, BillionBricks, for his expert insights and some of the innovative solutions of this growing housing crisis. 

How do we use the knowledge made available to us today, and transform the social sector to deliver social good more effectively?

With the virus becoming the new normal, The New Paper reports that non-profit organisations here have seen a dip in the number of volunteers as more people grow wary of gathering in large groups due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

In fact, a study released by Fidelity Charitable, a nonprofit organization created by Fidelity Investments, found that two-thirds of all volunteers had either decreased or stopped their volunteering because of the pandemic. Volunteering has fallen sharply in the pandemic, creating an enormous financial burden on the nonprofit organizations that depended on the free assistance.

How do we reinvent the volunteering space to adapt the new normal? What is the significance of volunteering in SEA and how do we further develop the state of volunteering using A.I.?

To answer these questions, I speak to Janelle Lee, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Bantu, for her expert insights.

According to a 2019 report by the UN Economic and Social Council, The Asia-Pacific region has long been affected by disasters. Since 1970, two million people have been killed in disasters – 59 per cent of the global death toll. 

The principal causes of deaths due to natural hazards in the Asia-Pacific region were earthquakes and storms, followed by floods. 

The Asia-Pacific experiences more than 40% of the world’s natural disasters, being the most seismically active area worldwide. China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the top four natural disaster-prone countries in Asia, are expected to lose $380 billion each year between 2016 and 2030 as a result of natural disasters

To further add to complications, Covid-19 has infected more than 11m people in Asia to date and is expected to cause more than US$2.7trillion in future economic losses. 

With such great issues that plague humanity and the environment, Disaster Technologies are becoming an increasing importance to address these issues.

But what is the state of Disaster Technologies for South-East Asia, and what opportunities can tech entrepreneurs see and make an impact? 

To answer these questions, I speak to Donald Kanak, Chairman of Prudence Foundation, for his expert insights on Disaster Technology and the importance that D-Tech has for Asia Pacific.

Angel investors act as catalysts for many early-stage enterprises, bringing these startups through key checkpoints of their entrepreneurial journey.

A report by ANGIN finds that angel investment networks in SEA are at a pivotal stage of their life cycle. Indonesia is no exception, in fact according to a report by ANGIN, 76% of the start-ups and social enterprises funded by VCs and impact investors in Indonesia received angel investment in their first round of funding.

This market for impact investing for angel investors is only set to grow. A report done by the Mekar group estimates that over the next five years Indonesia has USD 23 billion in investment opportunities to offer impact investors. 

How does Indonesia, as a growing startup ecosystem, help more angel investors invest in startups? What are some of the obstacles that angel investment networks face? How do we harness the power of these angel investors to drive Impact in SEA?

To answer these questions, I speak to David Soukhasing, MD of ANGIN, for his experiences and insights on the Angel Investing scene in Indonesia. 

Angel investors have a crucial role in developing the startup ecosystem. They accompany founders who are building sustainable businesses. However,

The private equity and venture capital market is an important facilitator of sustainable asset funding. In the same report by KPMG, 89% of limited partners say that they are using some form of Responsible Investment due diligence questionnaire or request for proposal as part of the fund selection process. 

However, only 28% of General Partners of funds said that the potential for high returns was one of the top three drivers for responsible investment. 

So how do we reconcile these facts that responsible investing is on the rise but yet private equity and VC funds have yet to catch up on responsible investing? What are the hindrances that prevent such fund managers from adopting responsible investment?

To answer these questions, I speak to Jaclyn Seow, Head of ESG & Impact for Openspace Ventures, for her experiences and insights on responsible investing as a VC and the impact it has for South-East Asia.

The key to unlocking the fashion industry’s sustainability problem - the supply chain. 

Southeast Asia is perhaps the perfect place to start when it comes to examining the fashion supply chain. Currently a producer of apparel for global markets, the region’s consumer class is young, interested in brand-name goods, and expected to double in size over the next decade.

However, the supply chain in Southeast Asia is often plagued with opaque and outdated business processes, harmful environmental impacts and questionable labour practices. This has a harmful effect on local workers and creates an unconducive environment for small brands to obtain financial opportunity and entrepreneurial growth in this market.

How do we then begin to empower other fashion SMEs to create a more level playing field?  How do we improve the supply chain in the fashion industry and what steps can the fashion industry take moving forward? 

To answer these questions, I speak to Billy Naveed, Head of Strategy in Zillingo, for his expert insights on the problems with the fashion industry supply

Here in Southeast Asia, diet-induced health issues have been on the rise. A report by the World Health Organisation showed that the growing income levels in Asia have caused a divergence away from traditional starch-based diets and towards food with high levels of salt, fat, protein and sugar, with much of it being processed foods. 

This has resulted in a plethora of health issues - a study by Bloomberg estimates that Southeast Asia is responsible for about 20% of all diabetics globally, and has seen the world’s largest increases in premature deaths related to cardiovascular disease over the past two decades. National healthcare spending for obesity-related issues has also reached as much as 19% in some parts of Southeast Asia.

Do the current solutions target the issue of healthy food, or does it just help improve food security? What are the challenges that FoodTech startups face when trying to implement solutions? And what other ways can we address this growing problem in Southeast Asia? 

To answer these questions, I speak to Dr Sherman Ho, Chief Scientist and Cofounder of Hoow Foods, a food-technology company that aims to research and develop healthier yet tasty foods to the world, for his expert insights.