DBS Foundation awards record SGD 3 million to 19 businesses-for-impact across Asia

Indonesia.13 Jan 2022

Funding will enable businesses to impact 24,000 lives, abate 160,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions, and reduce 250,000 tonnes of food and plastic waste


Waste4Change and Tridi Oasis from Indonesia receives funding to focus on handling waste


Indonesia, 13 Jan 2022 - DBS Foundation, the first foundation in Singapore dedicated to championing social entrepreneurship, has awarded close to SGD 3 million to 19 social enterprises (SEs) to grow their business, and scale their social and environmental impact. Two of them are SE from Indonesia, which are Tridi Oasis and Waste4Change. Awarded via 2021’s instalment of the bank’s flagshipDBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme, the grant quantum is more than double the usual amount disbursed each year.

With DBS Foundation’s grant funding, these 19 businesses will collectively impact 24,000 lives across the region by availing access to quality healthcare and education, and improving the livelihoods of those in rural communities. The businesses will also work towards abating 160,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions, as well as reducing 120,000 tonnes of food waste and 130,000 tonnes of plastic waste.

Karen Ngui, Group Head, DBS Strategic Marketing and Communications and Board Member of DBS Foundation, said, “There’s a growing pool of young enterprises that, to us, represent the future of business. They’re developing innovative solutions to solve pressing social and environmental problems, and with their dual bottom-lines of profit and impact, can make a difference in a sustainable manner. We see them as purpose-driven changemakers who are paving the way towards a more sustainable future, and are committed to supporting their growth. With the prolonged pandemic, we have more than doubled our grant quantum this year so as to help more of such businesses tide through this trying period, while scaling impact.”

Handpicked from close to 700 applicants across Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, and Taiwan, these 19 businesses-for-impact will channel their funding towards enhancing and deploying their innovations, which seek to tackle issues spanning healthcare, nutrition, employability and income disparity, education, energy, environment protection and waste management, all of which are pertinent and increasingly prevalent today.

Tridi Oasis and Waste4Change are grant funding recipients that focus on handling environmental issues through technology and science advancement. Their grant funding will be leveraged to explore the use of emerging technologies, improve and scale existing systems, and deepen research and development (R&D) efforts. Here are their brief profiles:

  • Tridi Oasis is a manufacturer of recycled plastic bottles. They produce high and medium grade PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) flakes which can be transformed into sustainable packaging and textiles, enabling customers to develop products that perform, look, and feel better. They seek to continuously contribute to the circular economy by creating upcycled products and sustainable jobs.

    Dian Kurniawati, Founder and CEO Tridi Oasis, said, “Collaborating with DBS made us learn how social entrepreneurs can make bigger social changes by implementing the right entrepreneurship/business strategy. The DBSF Grant we received will fund an environmental study of the multi-layered packaging (MLP) recycling process and hire a team for MLP plastics collection in Tangerang.”
  • Waste4Change aims to enable a more responsible, collaborative, and technology-based waste management ecosystem that supports the Implementation of a circular economy. They help to facilitate responsible waste collection (including sorting, recycling, and composting activities) to reduce the volume of waste going into landfills. They also provide consultation services, facilitation and education programmes across stakeholders, and process the collected waste in a responsible way to become recycled material.

    Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano, Founder and CEO Waste4Change, said, “We are grateful for the opportunity given by DBS for us to learn and grow together. With the grant fund we received from the DBS Foundation, we plan to partner with 300 temporary disposal sites (TPS) 3R and Waste Bank Jabodetabek to manage more waste. There will be an increase in capacity and assistance, as well as an integration of information systems for partners' businesses. Not only does it reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the final disposal site (TPA), but the initiative also increases the income of the waste industry players.”


Mona Monika, Head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications, PT Bank DBS Indonesia, said, “Since 2015, 14 social entrepreneurs from Indonesia have successfully received DBS Foundation Grant. Along with one of our sustainability pillars, which is Creating Social Impact, in the future, we will gladly commit to growing more social entrepreneurs to help strengthen economic growth and answer various social issues in Indonesia.”

Furthermore, DBS will support SE to reach the target by leveraging access to diverse bank resources, such as skills training and capacity building, opening up opportunities to build networks and business opportunities, procurement, and awareness-raising through various initiatives and platforms. The DBS Foundation will also conduct a half-year review with the businesses to monitor their progress and work with them to refine and develop their growth plans.

Identifying change makers through DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Programme

The pandemic has worsened social inequality. As awareness of this has been increasing, so do the expectations of stakeholders who are beginning to transform. In such a manner, businesses are more than just looking for profit but play a more meaningful role in society. Business players are increasingly required to focus on driving the transition to a more sustainable world, a goal that is very much in line with DBS.

Through this grant funding, DBS aims to identify, support, and force the growth of innovative social entrepreneurs. Therefore, they can make positive changes from the downstream with visionary solutions and the potential to create enormous breakthroughs. 

Please refer to the appendix for full list of awardees

To find out more about the DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme and the 2021 batch of awardees, visit go.dbs.com/Grants

Driving the collective shift towards a more sustainability-conscious world

Since 2015, the DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant has given out more than SGD 10 million in grant funding to 93 SEs across the region. This is in addition to broader forms of support from the bank including business, networking, and learning opportunities with which to navigate a changing business environment. For example, DBS recently conducted data and cyber wellness refresher workshops for 400 SE employees to better equip these businesses in an increasingly digital world.

Beyond the grant programme, DBS also supports the wider SE ecosystem in other ways. Over the years, it has nurtured over 800 SEs through non-monetary forms of support. DBS is also focused on deepening ecosystem partnerships with which to equip SEs with the skills and support they need to grow, and collectively create a stronger foundation for the sector.

 

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Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney, “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker and “Best Bank in the World” by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney and the world’s “Most Innovative in Digital Banking” by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia” award by Global Finance for 13 consecutive years from 2009 to 2021.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.