August 2021
Despite the ongoing pandemic and myriad of challenges, ANDE East and Southeast Asia and our members never stop supporting and engaging with the small and growing business (SGB) ecosystem in hopes that, together, we can leverage existing opportunities to recover and grow even stronger.
In partnership with Gobi Partners, we hosted the Impact Measurement and Management 101 as part of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) Competition. This introductory yet comprehensive workshop, presented by ANDE’s Impact Analyst, Mallory St. Claire, introduced an overview of impact measurement and management (IMM) and approaches entrepreneurs can apply to their businesses. Moreover, we were honored to have SHE Investments share best practices on how they build and develop IMM systems. In case you missed it, watch the recording here.
In the latest Test Phase of the ESEA Gender Equality Action Lab, we gathered to refine the prototype idea and get ourselves ready to pilot the initiative in the next few months. We also launched a new ANDE funding opportunity, Gender-Smart Investing Capacity Building Facility, aiming to help investors build the technical know-how to incorporate gender lens into their investment and help SGBs make gender-smart business decisions. Would you like to learn more about the application and selection processes? Check out the recording of the Asia Office Hours Session.
Finally, we kicked off August with the second session of the Digitalization Learning Lab Series, ‘Know Your User - Create Your Offer’ last week. We were honored to have Mercy Corps Indonesia share their digital journey experiences on how they identified and selected their extreme user persona and how their value proposition is defined. Stay tuned on our social media channels and website for key summaries and resources from each session. Discover more exciting events, opportunities, and resources in the following sections!
ANDE Funding Opportunities
Applications are open for the ANDE Gender-Smart Investing Capacity Building Facility
Deadline: 18 August 2021
The Gender-Smart Investing Capacity Building Facility will award five grants of up to USD $30,000 for pre-investment gender-smart capacity building services to joint teams of one investor and 1-3 SGBs operating in India, Brazil, or the East and Southeast Asia, Andean, or Eastern African regions. Investor applicants must match funds based on a sliding scale determined by their assets under management. See more information on requirements, timeline, and application resources, and apply by August 18, 2021. Applicants may send questions to ande.membership@aspeninstitute.org.
ANDE is also launching a call for gender-smart capacity development providers to build a directory of individuals and institutions that provide this array of services. To be considered for the directory, please complete this survey.
ANDE Events
SEA Climate and Environmental Snapshot Report Launch
19 August 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 AM (GMT+7)
Supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) cordially invite you to the virtual launch of the Southeast Asia Climate and Environmental Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Snapshot on Thursday, August 19 at 10:00 - 11:30 (GMT+7). You will hear key findings from the report and discussions on the current and future state of climate and environmental entrepreneurship in the region. Register now! Please find more details here and contact Mashita if you have any questions.
Building the Gender Lens Investing Ecosystem in Southeast Asia
26 August 2021 | 14:00 - 15:30 (GMT+7)
ANDE East and Southeast Asia, in collaboration with Gobi Partners, are thrilled to invite you to join us for a webinar “Building the Gender Lens Investing Ecosystem in Southeast Asia.” This webinar is organized as part of She Loves Tech (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia Chapter) and aims to provide an opportunity for ecosystem support organizations in East and Southeast Asia who are the grantees of ANDE Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund (AWEF) to share their innovative approaches and success stories in addressing the significant gap in access to finance for women-led small and growing businesses (SGBs) in the region. Register now! Please find more details here and contact Pasiwat if you have any questions.
Making the Case for SGB Advocacy in Africa Convening
31 August 2021 | 12:00 PM (WAT) | 1:00 PM (SAST) | 2:00 PM (EAT)
ANDE West Africa, South Africa and East Africa Chapters, with support from Argidius Foundation, cordially invite you to a dialogue on advocacy approaches for the SGB sector in Africa. The meeting aims to highlight the role of advocacy in making a case for SGBs and building a consensus on the most pertinent advocacy issues and priorities that are critical to creating an enabling environment for SGBs to thrive.
ANDE Annual Conference 2021
28 - 30 September 2021
Join us virtually for our annual flagship event to connect, learn and inspire! As always, the agenda will be highly interactive and feature workshops, showcase presentations, speed networking, and more. Any number of colleagues from ANDE member organizations are welcome to attend. Please note members will need to log in to register.
ANDE Career Opportunities
Senior Talent Associate | Washington, DC
Membership and Events Program Coordinator | Washington, DC
Latin America Finance Coordinator | Mexico City, Mexico
Central America and Mexico Program Manager | Guatemala City, Guatemala
See current open positions on our career page.
ANDE Resources
Meet ANDE Champions Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in SEA Region!
In this blog, meet four ANDE Members — Athena Global, Pact Cambodia, Manila Angel Investors Network (MAIN), and Villgro Philippines — and two ANDE AGEI Action Lab Participants — xchange and CEED Thailand — and explore how these organizations support the entrepreneurial journeys for women entrepreneurs.
Innovative Approaches to Socio-Economic Challenges in Thailand
In this blog, we’re excited to highlight Impact Enterprise 20, an innovative initiative co-launched by ANDE Member ChangeFusion and ANDE Partner UNDP Thailand that aims to grow social impact investment in Thailand. The program has supported 20 impact enterprises to achieve financial sustainability, while also addressing the business challenges that these enterprises face.
Sector Events
Accelerating the Accelerators 2021 - Thriving Forward | by Conveners.org
10-12 August 2021
Asia Sustainability Conference | by South China Morning Post
17 - 19 August 2021
Grow Learn Connect: Creating the 24/7 Classroom Webinar | by International Finance Corporation (IFC)
19 August 2021
WE Rise: Impact Showcase | by Villgro Philippines
25 - 26 August 2021
Investing for Good Asia | by Financial Times Live
8 September 2021
SOCAP21 Virtual | by SOCAP Global
18-21 October 2021
Next Normal Now: Re-imagining Capitalism for Our Future | by Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
27 October 2021
Investing in a Better Future in Asia: Through the Lens of ESG Funds | by Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN)
12 August 2021
Education Exchange: Climate change and girls' education | by British Council
18 August 2021
Innovations and Opportunities in the Global Supply Chain | by Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University
19 August 2021
Southeast Asia Regional Members’ Gathering: The Asian Decade | by Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN)
26 August 2021
Global Impact Summit 2021 | by GSG
6-8 October 2021
Social Value Matters 2021 Conference | by Social Value Thailand
20 - 21 October 2021
Sector Opportunities
Call for Applications: Options for Pregnancy Termination Innovation Initiative (OPTions Initiative) | by Grand Challenges Canada
Deadline: 11 August 2021
Who: Applicants with new or improved approaches to increasing early access to existing pregnancy termination products and services in low- and middle-income countries
Call for Applications: Impact Collective Acceleration Program 2021 | by Impact Collective
Deadline: 15 August 2021
Who: Startups who are solving global challenges ranging from food security and sustainable livelihoods to dynamic workforce, circular economy, sustainable cities, and environmental innovations
Call for Applications: Stimulating Entrepreneurship & Business Growth in Southeast Asia | by Moody’s Corporation and Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN)
Deadline: 17 August 2021
Who: Impact-driven for-profit or non-profit organizations who are active in Singapore, Malaysia, or Vietnam, revenue-generating, and preferably led by women in leadership positions
Call for Applications: Resiliency Grant Program | by Internet Society Foundation
Deadline: 27 August 2021
Who: Legally-registered organizations who seek direct knowledge of Internet resiliency to deploy resilient Internet infrastructure
Call for Expression of Interest: Agritech Challenge 2021 | by United Nations Capital Development Fund
Deadline: 30 August 2021, 11:59 PM (EDT)
Who: Start-ups with solutions that are addressing at least one of the following challenges: low productivity, climate risk, and inefficient supply chains, and are interested in piloting their solution in one of the seven participating countries (Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia)
Call for Applications: Africa-Asia Impact Investing Fellowship | by Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN)
Deadline: 12 August 2021
Who: Individuals who have access to significant capital, or have responsibility for large investment portfolios and are used to managing assets of high networth individuals, families, or funds
Call for Applications: Indonesia Smart Energy Incubation Program | by New Energy Nexus
Deadline: 15 August 2021
Who: Startups who work in renewable energy, smart grid, energy efficiency, energy management, customer experience, e-mobility, business model innovation, IOT, blockchain and digitization, energy access, and storage
Call for Applications: She Loves Tech Global Startup Competition 2021 | by She Loves Tech
Deadline: 15 August 2021, 11:59 pm (GMT+8)
Who: Early stage, seed, angel, or A round funding (under US$5M) startups with at least a minimum viable product that is past conceptual stage. Technology startup fulfilling ONE of the following gender lens: female founder, majority female users, majority female consumers, and technology impacting women positively.
Call for Applications: Call for Papers on Environmental Challenges and Agricultural Sustainability in Asia: Interlinkages and Future Implications | by Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)
Deadline: 30 August 2021
Who: Authors with papers on innovative farming practices and their social and institutional adoption for agricultural sustainability in Asia
Call for Applications: Leadership for Growth – Asia (Online Program) | by Amani Institute
Deadline: 20 September 2021
Who: Middle and senior managers of small and growing businesses
Sector Resources
Online Course: Plastics X Circularity Curriculum (PXCC) | by Incubation Network
Strengthening Women’s Entrepreneurship in Agriculture in ASEAN Countries | by OECD and ASEAN
Financing Clean Energy in Developing Asia | by Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Journeys to Scale | by SEED
Sector Career Opportunities
East Asia and Pacific:
Value for Women – Director of Finance & Operations
Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) – South China Director
International Finance Corporation (IFC) – Operations Officer
Cambodia:
World Wide Fund – Illegal Wildlife Trade Programme Manager
International Development Enterprises (iDE) – Research Assistant
Indonesia:
New Energy Nexus – Engagement Manager
Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN) – Investment Analyst/Associate
Malaysia:
Endeavor – Entrepreneur Selection & Growth | Marketing, Communications & Partnerships
Philippines:
Habitat for Humanity International – Associate Director, MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning)
Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Senior/Principal Portfolio Management Specialist
Singapore:
Sarona Asset Management – Senior Investment Associate of Impact
Circulate Capital – Portfolio Analyst Trainee
Thailand:
FHI 360 – Senior Technical Advisor, Environment and Climate Change Initiative
RISE – Corporate Innovation Planner
Plug and Play Tech Center – Smart Cities Program & Operation Intern
International Finance Corporation (IFC) – Investment Officer
What we're reading
Sustainable Finance Critical for Sustainable Development Goals in ASEAN | by Grow Asia
New Fund Structure in the Field | by Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN)
Why Climate Action Requires An “Ecosystem Approach” To Innovation | by SecondMuse
Advancing Gender Parity in Workplaces of All Sizes | by BusinessWorld
How to Back An Inclusive Post-COVID Recovery | by World Economic Forum
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is a global network of organizations that propel entrepreneurship in developing economies. ANDE members provide critical financial, educational, and business support services to small and growing businesses (SGBs) based on the conviction that SGBs create jobs, stimulate long-term economic growth, and produce environmental and social benefits.
