Author Archives: jasmine.loh-admin

We are honoured to announce that Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India has been named Angels/VC/PE/Accelerator winner in the IAA Singapore 2023 Business as a Force for Good Awards! These awards honour Singapore-based companies who have:

• Demonstrated thought-leadership with respect to “Business as a Force for Good (BAFG)”
• Created a vision, mission statement and strategy clearly demonstrating their BAFG commitment
• Developed corporate social responsibility best practices
• Achieved remarkable economical results and meaningful societal impact to the BAFG initiatives including but not limited to Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Sustainability.

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is creating impact through their investment into emerging markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam and India. Their investment is aligned to UN SDGs and addresses the challenges in Economic Empowerment, MSME Enablement and Inclusion and have created 5 digits jobs and served millions of individual and MSMEs from developing markets. Their inclusion included Female Founders and Female workforce through highlighting their successes and creating quarterly forums to help them learn from subject experts. They are also caring for the wider community set aside time to support and mentor founders across the region such as “Makan for Hope in 2021” and “Mentor for Hope in 2020”.

About Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India invests in high-growth start-ups seeking their first round of institutional venture capital funding in Southeast Asia and India. It has a long and strong track record of investing in early-stage startups and building champions like Grab, Patsnap, 17Live, Nium, FirstCry, Licious, the Parentinc, Validus, and others.

For more information, please visit: https://www.vertexventures.sg/

We are honoured to announce that Green Rebel Foods Pte Ltd has been named Startup winner in the IAA Singapore 2023 Business as a Force for Good Awards! These awards honour Singapore-based companies who have:

• Demonstrated thought-leadership with respect to “Business as a Force for Good (BAFG)”
• Created a vision, mission statement and strategy clearly demonstrating their BAFG commitment
• Developed corporate social responsibility best practices
• Achieved remarkable economical results and meaningful societal impact to the BAFG initiatives including but not limited to Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Sustainability.

Green Rebel stands out with its focus and endeavour to address the vital societal challenge of providing sustainable food options to consumers in Southeast Asia and beyond. Very clear, well-articulated presentation that was all encompassing. It was evident how the team embedded impact measures and values within their organization – from governance, board member expertise, inclusivity to operational KPIs. There was evidence of the great work by the team in their steady progress since launch. Their dedication to societal impact covers their entire value chain starting with leveraging local expertise that benefits farmers all the way to the individual consumers’ dining table.

The company’s unique approach of democratising plant-based food and flexitarian diets in the region by using natural ingredients to create delicious and authentic Asian-inspired flavors is truly innovative.
Backed by quantified societal impact, it lent greater gravitas and confidence in their venture. Impressive work! The company has the potential to be a catalyst for substantial economic benefits and impact, as well as its recognition as a sustainable innovator, which were key factors in its selection as the winner in this year’s Start-Up BAFG Awards.

About Green Rebel Foods Pte Ltd

An established social impact entrepreneur in Indonesia, Helga Angelina Tjahjadi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder of Green Rebel — Asia’s leading alt-protein brand that offers whole-cut, plant-based meat alternatives for the consumer in search of a healthier flexitarian diet.

A champion of a plant-centric, flexitarian diet, Indonesia-born Helga spearheads Green Rebel’s growth and expansion within Indonesia and beyond, working with dynamic teams in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and more.

#bafg #iaasg

Meet the 2023 Executive Committee:

#iaasg

We kicked off our Business As A Force For Good awards ceremony with a panel discussion titled “Empower yourself: Overcome challenges and implement sustainable practices in business” and had the honor of having distinguished speakers from different industry background talk about how corporations may improve our society and environment:

• Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer of City Developments Limited
• Eu-Lin Fang, Partner, Sustainability and Climate Change Practice Leader of PwC Singapore
• Paul Blackler, Sustainability & Innovation Lead of PALO IT
• Shoko Suzuki, Chief Transformation Officer, Head of New Business & ESG of Unilever
• Manik Saha, Managing Director of SAP Labs Singapore as our moderator

Each speaker started off by introducing how they approach sustainability in their own respective company and later shared about their top-of-mind issues that they are concerned with. The ABCD framework – Alignment, Business, Collaboration and Disclosure – was discussed as a potential approach to address sustainability concerns. Alignment of business model to industrial, national and international goals is key and so is the importance of developing a business case for sustainability which references to the triple bottom line theory. Collaboration along the entire value chain is essential to ensure that interest of every stakeholder is aligned and there is a need to improve transparency of sustainability reporting through disclosures.

Sustainability is still a relatively new field in this day and age that comes with a lot of ambiguity. There is no single path to adopt sustainability and an effective climate strategy requires resilience and adaption. Throughout the session, there were a lot of discussions regarding the huge challenge in this field given that there are over 600 different frameworks and sustainability guidelines.

There is clearly a need for standardization to simplify the reporting which can aid corporations to set goals, establish priorities and manage change. From this panel discussion, we learned about how each stakeholder can contribute to this process:

• Academia can play a critical role to clarify the roles for all stakeholders.
• Industry players can also create an industry consortium to set a common standard, but it is essential to first encourage corporations to collaborate with each other

#iaasg #bafg

Dear Members,

Our theme last year was “Engaging Our Members”. We are thrilled to report on the success we achieved. In our association, our 100+ volunteers graciously volunteered their time to organize 73 events, giving our alumni ample opportunities to connect, engage and thrive.

This year, our Executive Committee has set a bold new theme: “Building Bridges.” Our aim is to engage our members in more meaningful ways to promote positive impact. To achieve these goals, we need your help.

We welcome you, our valued members, to join us on this adventure. Our new initiatives include IN-Board, Career Development Coaching, and many other events and projects. We are open to new ideas and energy, so please share your suggestions .

Help us build bridges that will connect us to each other and to the world. Together, we can continue to make the INSEAD Alumni Association of Singapore, a shining example of what can be accomplished when a community comes together.

We hereby present our 2023 Executive Committee. Committee members do stand up so that our members can approach you to help us embark on another exciting journey building bridges for growth, learning and positive impact.

Let’s be amazing, together!

#iaasg

Hearing from Brad Fraser MAP’18Apr
– Head of Prime Derivative Services Asia Pacific at Barclays

How did you determine which businesses demonstrated a strong commitment to being a force for good?

The criteria we used to differentiate particularly competitive and some really impactful companies was:

(1) the use of innovative solutions to a particular issue
(2) breadth of impact on a community
(3) but I think most importantly, the actual impact. How does the solutions impact the community?

For example, not just by providing internet access to a under-serviced community, but the impact access to the internet has on that community i.e. education, small business etc.

When evaluating how a company’s solutions impact a community, it’s important to consider both the intended and unintended consequences of their actions.

Intended impact refers to the direct and measurable results of a company’s solutions on a community. For example, if a company provides access to affordable healthcare to underserved communities, the intended impact would be improved health outcomes for those communities.

However, unintended consequences also need to be considered. These can include negative impacts that may arise from the implementation of a solution, such as environmental harm or unintended social consequences. For example, a company may introduce a new product that is meant to be environmentally friendly but it may end up using materials that are unsustainable, leading to negative environmental impacts.

To evaluate the impact of a company’s solutions on a community, it is important to take a holistic approach that considers both the intended and unintended consequences of their actions. This can be done through monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the solutions over time and engaging with the community to understand their needs and concerns.

Meeting our 2023 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Diana Gan – Founder of Elementary Capital

Post #2- Kaushik Burman – General Manager & Managing Director at Gogoro India Pvt Ltd)

Post #3 – Dr Vinika D. Rao – Executive Director, INSEAD Emerging Markets, Gender & Africa Initiatives; Asia Director, HGIBS

Post #4 – Mike Summers  – Defence & Security Director, Singapore (ASEAN); Australia Trade and Investment Commission; Australian High Commission, Singapore

Post #5 – Nadir Zafar – Chief Experience Officer, Human Capital Leadership Institute

Post #6 – Tan Han Wee – Partner at Ernst & Young

Post #7 – David Mair  – CEO at Republic Consulting & Secretary-General at INSEAD Alumni Association

Catch-up with 2022 Winners – Interview series

Post #1 – Michelle Woo, VP Venture Build, ENGIE Factory Asia Pacific (Corporate Winner)

Post #2 – Masami Soto, Founder of Buy One Give One – Empirics Asia

Post #3 – Gurpreet Singh, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at RightShip

Catch-up with 2022 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Li Lian Liew GEMBA’13 – Director, Corporate Planning at Tan Tock Seng Hospital & Central Health

Post #2 – Apo Ozkececi MCCC’19Dec-S – SVP Commercial & Regional Head, Asia Pacific, Accelya

Post #3 – Brad Fraser MAP’18Apr – Head of Prime Derivative Services Asia Pacific, Barclays

#iaasg

Hearing from Gurpreet Singh  – Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at RightShip

Can you tell us about your experience winning this award and what it means for your business?

Personally, I was humbled by the opportunity to be part of the BAFG nominees and then winning the award. What I found really insightful was to meet other business leaders in the BAFG community, and fellow-INSEAD alums as we got together and celebrate why BAFG matters. To me, this is core to what INSEAD does in advocating doing business as a force for good in this VUCA world. A sustainable business is one that is grounded on good and ethical business practices, hence it only makes sense that we as INSEADers champion such efforts. For RightShip, the recognition means that we have to continue to strive in what we do – our vision is about driving zero harm the maritime ecosystem. And we do this by leveraging on data and technology to provide insights around Environmental, Social and Governance to our customers, suppliers and other players in this diverse industry. For us, the quest towards driving towards zero harm in sustainability and safety hence continues.

Can you discuss any unique or innovative approaches your business has taken to be a force for good?

Absolutely. We continue to evolve our propositions as the industry evolves and as there is an increased awareness around sustainable business practices. For example – with global increased concerns around ship emissions, we have launched the RightShip Carbon Accounting tool. This tool empowers charterers and owners to measure, track and reduce their emissions footprint.

With developing environmental regulations by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that are being introduced in 2023, we are also evolving our GHG Rating solution. This rating would thus be updated to incorporate an additional index, the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) values, into its rating. At present, more than 46 000 vessels on our RightShip Platform have a GHG Rating, with around 180 chartering customers leveraging the valuable environmental rating in their due diligence processes in the last year alone. As regulations become ever more complicated, RightShip will continue to support more customers with their sustainability requirements.

To continue to drive fair and good living and working conditions of seafarers onboard ships, our Crew Welfare Self Assessment questionnaire continues to raise awareness of crew welfare, and driving its importance via a Code of Conduct that we have formulated in collaboration with the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) along with Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB). We continue to work with members in the shipping ecosystem to join us on this journey to make a commitment to improve welfare for seafarers. To share a recent development, we have also released a report (2023 Seafarer Abandonment Report by RightShip) on our website. This write-up provides some telling facts about the situation with our industry, with the intention to raise further awareness of this pertinent issue, and enroll interested parties to learn more and join us in the quest for zero harm.

Can you discuss any partnerships or collaborations your business has formed in order to have a greater positive impact?

In RightShip, we have a strong calling and a clear vision, in driving for zero harm. However, we recognize that we cannot do it alone. Hence partnerships, is a key enabler for us to reach out to create a greater positive impact. Late last year, we’ve announced a collaboration with Veson Nautical, a software company that enables commercial maritime freight. The integration with Veson allows subscribers to access RightShip data, and hence make commercial decisions that would also take safety and sustainability into account.

Meeting our 2023 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Diana Gan – Founder of Elementary Capital

Post #2- Kaushik Burman – General Manager & Managing Director at Gogoro India Pvt Ltd)

Post #3 – Dr Vinika D. Rao – Executive Director, INSEAD Emerging Markets, Gender & Africa Initiatives; Asia Director, HGIBS

Post #4 – Mike Summers  – Defence & Security Director, Singapore (ASEAN); Australia Trade and Investment Commission; Australian High Commission, Singapore

Post #5 – Nadir Zafar – Chief Experience Officer, Human Capital Leadership Institute

Post #6 – Tan Han Wee – Partner at Ernst & Young

Post #7 – David Mair  – CEO at Republic Consulting & Secretary-General at INSEAD Alumni Association

Catch-up with 2022 Winners – Interview series

Post #1 – Michelle Woo, VP Venture Build, ENGIE Factory Asia Pacific (Corporate Winner)

Post #2 – Masami Soto, Founder of Buy One Give One – Empirics Asia

Post #3 – Gurpreet Singh, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at RightShip

Catch-up with 2022 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Li Lian Liew GEMBA’13 – Director, Corporate Planning at Tan Tock Seng Hospital & Central Health

Post #2 – Apo Ozkececi MCCC’19Dec-S – SVP Commercial & Regional Head, Asia Pacific, Accelya

Hearing from David Mair  – Chief Executive Officer at Republic Consulting & Secretary-General at INSEAD Alumni Association

What were your key takeaways after graduating from INSEAD in relation to having a positive social impact on the community?
While Milton Friedman’s dictum from 1970 that “the social responsibility of business is to increase it’s profits” held sway for most of North American enterprise for close to half a century, being educated at INSEAD offered a far broader perspective. Businesses are a part of the communities they operate in and they need to contribute to society beyond the maximisation of profits to include a responsibility to their employees, communities and the environment. The concept of earning a “license to operate’ was far more prevalent in European business far earlier than elsewhere but as the recent US Business Roundtable’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation makes clear, the belief that companies must deliver value to all their stakeholders is now mainstream globally. That’s where I think INSEAD has long been at the forefront for responsible capitalism.

What do you believe are the critical elements for a business to act as a force for good?
A critical element in my view is for companies, the executives and directors who lead them, and for every employee, to adopt a moral compass that is unwavering. It’s amazing what a clear lens of what is right and wrong can achieve. If you wouldn’t want your actions to be seen on the front page of a newspaper somewhere then you shouldn’t be doing what you are doing.

What key BAFG principles would you like businesses in Singapore to embrace?
Businesses in Singapore are already leading the way in many respects but I would like to see a more wide-spread adoption of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The recent announcement of the inaugural Steward Leadership 25 is fantastic progress in recognising those enterprises leading the way, as are the INSEAD Alumni Association Singapore’s Business As A Force For Good awards. The more attention we can draw to these issues, and the more we can celebrate success, the greater the incentives will be for investors, employees and all stakeholders to continue to drive change.

What were the main reasons for accepting an invitation to be an IAA Singapore BAFG judge?
I believe recognition for those enterprises and individuals driving change is an important element to achieve society-wide transformation. The IAA’s BAFG initiative is a unique opportunity to celebrate these successes.

What would you like to see in the upcoming review of the companies who are nominated?
While brochures and corporate videos are nice, I would like to see evidence of real impact in the real world, and a road map to achieve even more.

Meeting our 2023 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Diana Gan – Founder of Elementary Capital

Post #2- Kaushik Burman – General Manager & Managing Director at Gogoro India Pvt Ltd)

Post #3 – Dr Vinika D. Rao – Executive Director, INSEAD Emerging Markets, Gender & Africa Initiatives; Asia Director, HGIBS

Post #4 – Mike Summers  – Defence & Security Director, Singapore (ASEAN); Australia Trade and Investment Commission; Australian High Commission, Singapore

Post #5 – Nadir Zafar – Chief Experience Officer, Human Capital Leadership Institute

Post #6 – Tan Han Wee – Partner at Ernst & Young

Post #7 – David Mair  – CEO at Republic Consulting & Secretary-General at INSEAD Alumni Association

Catch-up with 2022 Winners – Interview series

Post #1 – Michelle Woo, VP Venture Build, ENGIE Factory Asia Pacific (Corporate Winner)

Catch-up with 2022 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Li Lian Liew GEMBA’13 – Director, Corporate Planning at Tan Tock Seng Hospital & Central Health

Post #2 – Apo Ozkececi MCCC’19Dec-S – SVP Commercial & Regional Head, Asia Pacific, Accelya

Hearing from Kaushik Burman, MBA’11Dec – General Manager & Managing Director at Gogoro India Pvt Ltd)

What were your key takeaways after graduating from INSEAD in relation to having a positive social impact on the community? To build businesses which have a deeper purpose, and lead by example. Next, contribute to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals example access to affordable and clean energy and climate action. Lastly, corporates and start-ups need to build an inclusive society, with deep empathy and care.

What do you believe are the critical elements for a business to act as a force for good? Businesses/Corporates need to spend time and efforts in better understanding of the key issues facing societies and communities, fissure points which may be lurking within societies as these have long term implications on people. Develop business models which dovetail solutions, which can solve some of the most pressing issues faced by communities – for e.g. ed-tech product offerings which can provide access to affordable and high quality remote learning solutions to the underprivileged community – thereby upgrading their incomes and livelihood. Focus on the UN SDGs and develop a set of concrete actions which would lead to achieving the SDG goals.

What actions from companies have you seen which has been a Force For Good? Leadership action to create an overall positive impact on life of citizens; Organizational wide cohesion to believe in deep purpose, where employees are fully committed to the vision and mission; Building the cognitive engine with well defined OKRs (Objectives and Key results), with a robust measurement and monitoring process; Diverse mix of board members, with strong governance protocols in place.

What are some examples in your profession/ company where you’ve experienced BAFG first-hand? Shell have led business teams with a well defined charter of SDG goals to solve the topics around sustainability, clean energy and energy access. As for Gogoro, this is NASDAQ listed firm, intersection of sustainability, electric mobility, innovation, clean energy infrastructure – solving the urban mobility, smart grid and clean energy topics aided by an AI driven battery swapping platform. Intellect, a Digital platform, which is solving mental health and wellness problem in a scientific and structured manner – got few of my colleagues to try out the product with excellent benefits.

What were the main reasons for accepting an invitation to be an IAA Singapore BAFG judge? As an INSEAD alumni and IAA SG member, I feel accountable to champion the values of INSEAD, which stands for diversity of thought and action. As a business leader, having led multi billion dollar businesses across diverse international markets, have contributed to the delivery of SDG outcomes, therefore have relevant experience in evaluating business models which are designed for BAFG outcomes. I have been mentoring startups, and angel investor in BAFG driven startups, I feel this is a great opportunity for me to explore and evaluate the companies who are in the fray.

What would like to see in the upcoming review of the companies who are nominated?  Those with bigger and bolder plans to solve SDG goals, capable to embracing innovation in problem solving issues faced by the communities; and societies and be inclusive and diversity in team composition, thoughts and actions.

Meeting our 2023 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Diana Gan – Founder of Elementary Capital

Post #2- Kaushik Burman – General Manager & Managing Director at Gogoro India Pvt Ltd)

Catch-up with 2022 Winners – Interview series

Post #1 – Michelle Woo, VP Venture Build, ENGIE Factory Asia Pacific (Corporate Winner)

Catch-up with 2022 Judges – Interview series

Post #1 – Li Lian Liew GEMBA’13 – Director, Corporate Planning at Tan Tock Seng Hospital & Central Health

Post #2 – Apo Ozkececi MCCC’19Dec-S – SVP Commercial & Regional Head, Asia Pacific, Accelya