Five Questions for Lim Seok Hui, CEO of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance

Photo courtesy of Philanthropy Asia Alliance.

The Asia Pacific region is known as an economic powerhouse, anchored by stable growth that has transformed the prospects of hundreds of millions of people. At the same time, significant work lies ahead to mitigate urgent threats to its upward trajectory, like climate change and the healthcare strains caused by an aging population.

A key philanthropic player in the region is the Singapore-based Temasek Trust, which mobilizes and oversees the philanthropic assets of the global investment company Temasek. In a few short years, its role has expanded from responsible stewardship to playing a catalytic role in developing a philanthropic ecosystem in the region and beyond.  

Among the trust’s initiatives is the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), which works to establish Asia as a “force for good” and to drive collaborative philanthropy. To date, PAA has gained more than 80 members and partners, including grantmakers like Dalio Philanthropies and the Gates Foundation, and key alliances like the World Economic Forum. Following its third summit in Singapore last year, PAA announced total collective pledges of more than $1 billion to help meet environmental and social challenges.

The Philanthropy Asia Alliance’s most recent summit showcased the launch of a Communities initiative that models its collaborative approach to scaling impact in three priority areas, and a strategic partnership between Temasek Trust, DBS Foundation and UBS Optimus Foundation to create Co-Axis, a digital catalytic capital marketplace.

IP recently asked PAA’s CEO Lim Seok Hui to share her insights on how 2024 summit developments fit within the region’s broader philanthropic goals, and about opportunities for U.S. donors interested in expanding their global engagement.

The alliance has the unique opportunity to build out the practice of regional philanthropy from the ground up. What challenges has that posed? Who or what have you looked to for organizational best practices?

PAA is focused on driving collaborative philanthropy to harness synergies and maximize impact across Asia’s philanthropic sector. However, collaboration is never an easy endeavor. Different priorities and considerations often complicate the process, and many parties may be working on similar projects without being aware of each other's efforts. Additionally, individuals may be unsure of how and where to start, or feel intimidated by the presence of established names who have been active in the field for much longer.

We are committed to addressing these challenges by providing a more coordinated and integrated approach to deliver impactful outcomes. This mission is supported by our over 80 global members and partners, who recognize the immense potential to drive positive change in Asia. By pooling resources, networks and insights, we are better equipped to tackle the complex challenges we face today.

In the same spirit of collaboration, PAA continues to share learnings and exchange best practices with other like-minded players in the ecosystem, such as AVPN and Asia Philanthropy Circle. We formed a long-term strategic partnership with the World Economic Forum to enable collaboration among philanthropists, private sector leaders and policymakers to accelerate climate action. We are also fortunate to be able to tap the capabilities of other entities within the Temasek Trust ecosystem.

What do you see as the emerging philanthropic trends in the region?

Asia is witnessing profound shifts in its philanthropic landscape. With a staggering 896 billionaires collectively holding $3.4 trillion in assets, the region is poised for transformative change. Furthermore, an estimated $2.5 trillion in intergenerational wealth is expected to change hands across Asia by 2030.

There has been an emergence of a more strategic approach to giving, driven by a younger generation with international exposure and an ambitious vision for societal transformation. These next-gen philanthropists are embracing innovative financing models, moving beyond traditional grantmaking to maximize impact.

We are also seeing collaborative models of philanthropy gain traction. Funders are pooling their resources and expertise to tackle systemic issues. There is an immense opportunity for greater collaboration among philanthropic entities and the need for a more systematic and structured approach to catalyze partnerships for action.

Please share how issues and mandates are identified.

Our alliance is focused on three interrelated anchor mandates: climate and nature, holistic and inclusive education, as well as global and public health. These are the areas where we encounter the most pressing, interconnected issues confronting Asia, and where philanthropy can most effectively catalyze change. They are also closely aligned with the focus areas of our members and partners.

Today, Asia produces over half the world's CO2 emissions and is home to temperatures that are rising twice faster than the global average. Unchecked, this imperils vulnerable island and coastal communities. The region is also grappling with biodiversity loss — an estimated 42% of all species in Southeast Asia could be lost by 2100 — driven by activities like deforestation, overfishing and pollution. Meanwhile, the climate crisis has led to new pathogens and exacerbated existing ones.

Many marginalized groups in Southeast Asian nations, such as women and children, lack equitable access to quality healthcare. Studies have also revealed that though lifespans have increased, health spans have not, and many spend the last 10 years of their lives in a sickly state. Coupled with an aging population and declining fertility rates, there is an urgent need to strengthen healthcare systems and infrastructure. 

Further, access to quality education remains subpar in many parts of Southeast Asia due to outdated curricula and insufficient qualified teachers. This has caused a gap between skills and workforce needs in an economy reliant on skilled labor.

In these domains, philanthropic investment can fuel early-stage innovation and data collection, paving the way for broader public-private funding later on. Together with Temasek Foundation, we are guided by these anchor mandates, as well as our Asia remit, when sourcing and selecting our project partners. We also look for projects that present high impact potential due to the innovativeness of their solutions and potential to scale, among other criteria.

Once these projects have been vetted and onboarded, PAA works closely with our members to disburse their funds toward various projects in our portfolio. At the same time, we stay close to our project partners and collaborate with them to monitor the progress of their projects.

More specifically, please talk about the factors that led to the launch of the PAA Communities initiative, as well as its goals.

The philanthropic landscape is dynamic but fragmented. Funders often duplicate efforts by implementing similar projects and inadvertently repeat mistakes that others have made. It can also be daunting trying to tackle a complex issue alone. Even projects seeking funding in the same area often compete for resources, resulting in inefficiencies and diluted impact.

Our Communities initiative, inspired by and co-developed with our alliance members, aims to mitigate this by providing a platform for collaboration, with PAA facilitating the interactions and helping to manage the different considerations of various parties.

This way, PAA members and project partners with shared interests can focus on systematically combining their expertise, resources and capital to amplify impact, highlighting the value of partnerships.

Under each Community, PAA curates a portfolio of high-impact projects for collective funding in partnership with Temasek Foundation. Each Community will also establish a collective impact statement to guide priority setting and design collective funding mechanisms.

The selection of focus areas is driven by urgency and impact, and anchored on PAA’s interconnected mandates of climate, health and education. We introduced the first three Communities – Blue Oceans, Sustainable Land Use, and Holistic and Inclusive Education – at this year’s Philanthropy Asia Summit, with SGD $40 million committed by PAA and our Community Pioneers to start. We are actively collaborating with our members to introduce additional Communities in the near term.

Within that, what are the opportunities for U.S. philanthropies that are interested in collaborating in the region, and how have they engaged in your work to date?

Philanthropy has a long and distinguished history in Asia, and many regional philanthropic organizations have been pioneering solutions to pressing challenges for decades. It is exciting to see this good work in the region being built on with the growing involvement of international philanthropic organizations, including those from the U.S.

We have engaged with a number of U.S. philanthropies who are interested to learn more about the landscape in Asia and explore areas where they can make an impact. This not only enriches partnerships here with fresh insights, expertise and resources, but also underscores the importance — and urgency — of leveraging Asian solutions to tackle today’s most complex global challenges.

For example, U.S.-based PAA member Dalio Philanthropies has come on board as a Community Pioneer of our Blue Oceans Community, which focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources in Asia. Alongside PAA and other Community Pioneers, it will play an active role in shaping, funding and advancing the community’s mission. Known for championing crucial ocean conservation efforts like its global ocean exploration nonprofit OceanX, Dalio exemplifies the powerful impact of such collaborations. We invite more funders — from the U.S. and across the globe — to join us in leading and supporting these Communities.

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Asked what success may look like in the future, Lim described a growing emphasis on accountability, effectiveness and transparency within the philanthropic sector — and the systemic embrace of innovative financing models to achieve sustainable impact.

“The end goal,” she said, “is to build a vibrant community of like-minded, multisector partners from all over the world that collectively drive catalytic capital toward high-impact projects in Asia.”