AVPN Secures $3M Seed Fund with Support from Google.org, ADB to Combat Climate Change in Asia Pacific

Asia has faced some of the harshest effects of climate change globally. Last year, more than 57 million people in the region were severely affected by climate-related disasters.

This priority for climate action has led AVPN, the world's largest network of social investors in Asia, to launch the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund.

This USD3M fund has been made possible through the support of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a Strategic and Outreach partner of the Fund.

The fund will provide support to non-profit organizations in 11 markets that are using technology-based solutions to combat climate change and drive sustainability.

The markets include Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Michaela Browning, Google Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Asia Pacific said, "This initiative is an opportunity for public and private organizations to come together in the shared responsibility to work towards climate and sustainability solutions. We're excited by the possibilities of using technology, including many of our own tools and platforms, to build scalable and impactful solutions that help tackle the threats presented by climate change. Working in close partnership with AVPN and ADB, we look forward to supporting non-profits that are working on promising technology-based solutions, to help them to scale these and take them to the next level.

The announcement was made at the AVPN Global Conference happening in Bali, the world's largest networking event for Social Investors in Asia. The output of the convening will be added to the main agenda of the upcoming G20.

"Sustainability is at the core of AVPN's mission, which is why this landmark fund, made possible with support from Google.org and ADB, brings us closer to our vision of moving more capital towards impact. This fund is part of our wider efforts with the AVPN Climate Action Platform, which has now facilitated over 55 climate-related deals with a total value of USD 75 million+ on the platform," explained Naina Subberwal Batra as the CEO of AVPN during the conference.