HONG KONG — AVPN, the largest network of social investors in Asia, said the region has been emerging as a powerhouse in philanthropy, social innovation and impact investing through bold advocacy, boundary-pushing dialogue and actionable strategies.
“I think we have learned from what has not worked in other parts of the world, and we have really relied on our own culture, and our own beliefs and value systems in our countries to see what will work in our societies,” AVPN Chief Executive Officer Naina Subberwal Batra said during the AVPN Global Conference 2025 at the Rosewood Hotel.
The event was attended by more than 1,550 delegates from across 50 markets and featured more than 300 speakers in 110 sessions.
Batra stressed the importance of impact investing, citing the need to fund projects that meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in the Asian region, totaling $1.4 trillion.
“That money is not going to come from philanthropy; it is going to come from the capital markets. And we have become even more successful this year in attracting capital markets to come and talk about these issues here at the AVPN Conference with us,” Batra said.
Vikas Arora, AVPN’s chief of Impact Investing and Blended Finance, said that the organization is now endeavoring for a partnership with private capital owners, venture capital funds, banks, financial institutions and multilateral development banks to maximize investments for social impact.
“And our intention is to bring in as many such funders to start implementing a scheme which kind of articulates the impact that they’re looking to create. I think over the last two years, we’ve spent a lot of time and effort in terms of repositioning AVPN as a platform that covers the entire continuum of capital,” Arora said.
Batra said funds that cover projects not only in the Philippines but in the whole region enable them to “seed technology and innovation,” which were deemed risky for first-time investors.
AVPN’s investments in the Philippines include the Lighthouse Fund for Climate and Health led by the Bayer Foundation, the India Health Fund and the Prudence Foundation, one of whose grantees is Sora Technology, a drone startup that would use the technology to detect high-risk water breeding sites for dengue.
“I think AVPN, and philanthropy and social investing in Asia have grown up together, where we feel that we are now in a place where we can talk about our work, talk about our achievements, not with arrogance, with humility, but with confidence, and I think that’s what we’ve done,” Batra said.
