ABC World Asia Launches Inaugural Impact Report

Invested S$98M From First Fund

Across Five Companies Delivering Positive Impact In Financial Inclusion, Agriculture, Environment, and Health

• Impact report marks the first year of investing for ABC World Asia after raising its first fund of S$405M;
• Diverse portfolio addressing pressing global challenges now spans innovative companies in Singapore, China, India, Vietnam, and Australia;
• Investment approach aims to generate positive and measurable social or environmental impact, alongside a compelling risk-adjusted return for investors.

SINGAPORE, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — ABC World Asia (“ABC World”), the private equity fund dedicated to impact investing in Asia, today launched its inaugural impact report to share details of its investment activities and portfolio impact performance for the full 2020 calendar year. The S$98M deployed in 2020 to five companies addressed challenges in climate, financial inclusion, healthcare, and sustainable agriculture.

The 2020 report, titled “Journey to Impact in Asia“, is available for download from www.abcworld.com.sg/impactreport2020. In addition to sharing highlights from its portfolio, this first edition also sets out ABC World’s framework for impact evaluation. The report contains case studies of four portfolio companies — outlining the solutions that each company provides to help address global challenges.

David Heng, Founder and CEO of ABC World, said, “By sharing our learnings and experiences through this report and its future editions, we hope to encourage more dialogues in impact investing in Asia. Impact investing is a pathway for capital and businesses to drive positive change in the world. This report represents the first step in our impact journey and we hope to grow together with our stakeholders to help shape a better world for everyone.”

Impact investments that create positive change

In 2020, ABC World evaluated over 200 opportunities and invested in five businesses in Asia Pacific, deploying S$98 million from its first S$405M fund.

Climate Solutions

Singapore-based solar firm Sunseap Group addresses the decarbonisation challenge by assisting Asia in transitioning from emissions-intensive energy sources to clean energy.

v2food is an Australian producer of plant-based meat using protein extracted from legumes. Its products help accelerate consumers’ transition to a more plant-rich diet.

This in turn helps to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of animal agriculture such as greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss.

The companies generated a positive impact outcome on the environment, avoiding about 1.1M metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2020.

Financial and Digital Inclusion

CD Finance provides financial services to rural populations in China. Over 460,000 people and microenterprises have gained access to credit and financial services through CD Finance in 2020. The company is driving further financial inclusion through digital technology, and connects households and micro-enterprises to credit and financial services that help reduce poverty and promote economic development.

Better Health and Education

Kim Dental provides vital dental services to communities in Vietnam, with over 129,000 people having received oral health treatment along with prevention in 2020. Oral health is often neglected and continues to pose a major public health concern in many developing countries, despite being an important component of primary healthcare. The company delivers a large panel of oral health solutions to meet the needs of underserved and emerging middle class populations across Vietnam.

Sustainable Food & Agriculture

India-based agri-tech platform CropIn assists smallholder farmers in building secure and sustainable livelihoods. In 2020, over 1.5M smallholder farmers globally have gained access to its customised farming advice and information. Its farm management solution drives greater efficiency in agri supply chains and improves the productivity of smallholder farmers, many of whom earn less than US$2 a day.

David concluded, “We are optimistic about the outlook for impact investing in Asia and look forward to harnessing our financial, human, and intellectual resources to help grow more purpose-driven businesses in the region.”

About ABC World Asia

ABC World Asia is a Singapore-headquartered and Asia-focused private equity fund dedicated to impact investing. We invest in companies that drive positive change by addressing the world’s most pressing challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and deepening inequality. Our investment themes include financial and digital inclusion, better health and education, climate and water solutions, sustainable food and agriculture, and smart and liveable cities.

We believe that investing with an impact lens demonstrates the positive power of private capital and can help to foster more innovative and resilient companies that deliver societal and environmental benefits. We are a disciplined investor with a rigorous and evidence-based impact assessment approach that aims to generate positive and measurable social or environmental outcomes, alongside a compelling risk-adjusted return for our investors.

Our investment themes are aligned with the ABC Framework for an Active Economy, a Beautiful Society, and a Clean Earth. The ABC Framework was established by Singapore investment company Temasek and builds on the ideals of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.

Our inaugural S$405 million fund includes investors such as Temasek Trust, Temasek, Pavilion Capital, Mapletree Investments, Seatown Holdings, Sembcorp Industries, and Singapore Power.

For more information, please visit www.abcworld.com.sg

The 2020 impact “Journey to Impact in Asia“, is available for download from www.abcworld.com.sg/impactreport2020

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