Chairman, Temasek Holdings and Philanthropy Asia Alliance, Mr Lim Boon Heng
Chairman, Temasek Trust, Ms Ho Ching
Distinguished Guests, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
It’s my pleasure to welcome you to our fifth Philanthropy Asia Summit.
At Temasek Trust, we seek to build a better future for every generation.
To do this, we need to fix the health of our Planet – for there is no future in an unliveable world.
But the climate crisis is not just an environmental issue – it is profoundly human. And it will fall hardest on People who are already vulnerable: the poor and disadvantaged, those with the least access to healthcare, education, and opportunity.
With trouble brewing around us in the world, we also know that without Peace, there is no promise of a certain future, nor certainty that the future will be promising.
Collectively, we must drive Progress where no one is left behind – progress powered by systemic change, technological advancement, and a just, inclusive transition.
Planet, People, Peace, Progress – we call them our 4Ps - these are our priorities for action and impact.
But none of them can be meaningfully advanced in isolation. In a world increasingly parochial, polarised, and protectionist, we need a fifth P – in Partnership.
Partnerships are a force multiplier. They can bridge public, private, and philanthropic sectors. They catalyse change and impact, transcend borders and geopolitics, and ground us all in a shared purpose and common humanity.
To go further and faster together, I suggest four pathways that we can all partner up:
First, we can nurture an ecosystem from ground up for emerging changemakers, and build capacity for a future-ready, professionalised impact sector in Asia. We launched the Asia Centre for Changemakers for this reason and we hope you will join or support their programmes.
Second, we can connect these changemakers with resources. With the blurring of lines between business and philanthropy, there is huge potential to broaden the spectrum of investment capital for good. We initiated Co-Axis as a digital impact marketplace to connect funders and founders. It now has 100 impact projects from over 40 countries. We invite you to explore these opportunities and invest directly to shape the solutions that matter.
Third, we can catalyse impact at systems level. Compared to government budgets and private capital, philanthropic funds may be smaller but they can be most catalytic. With outcomes-based financing models, blended capital structures, amplifiers, and impact investments, we can unlock larger flows of public and private capital. We hope to work with like-minded partners to deploy capital with the view to its intentionality and additionality in scale and impact.
And finally, we believe in the convening power of networks – not just to share and inspire, but to mobilise action and drive impact. This is what the Philanthropy Asia Alliance is about – building communities of interest and collaborating on high-impact projects that deliver real outcomes. We welcome you to lead, co-lead, or simply crowd in to these coalitions for change.
I would like to express our appreciation to Lim Seok Hui who helmed the PAA team since its inception; and to welcome Shaun Seow who took over as the CEO of PAA last month. This is our largest Summit yet, with over 700 participants from around the world, over three days of partner-led events and curated impact showcases.
The theme – Priming Asia for Good – reflects our deep conviction: that Asia has both the responsibility and the opportunity to lead in shaping a better future. Our approaches and solutions may be contextualised for Asia, but the relevance is global. After all, solving for the world must involve solving for Asia.
In the words of Malala Yousafzai who won the Nobel Peace Prize at 17, “when the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful”.
Today, in a world that is noisy and discordant, we need the thunderous chorus of all our voices coming together as one - to bring about change systemically, catalytically, and collaboratively.
We look forward to strengthening partnerships with you – and you with one another.
I wish you a most engaging week ahead.
Thank you.
