1. Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (Charity Registration UEN 201016116M)
General contact: info@avpn.asia
Office: 33A Circular Road, Singapore 049389
(Registered office: 80Robinson Road, #02-00, Singapore 068898)
Page 1 of 2
Singapore’s first venture philanthropy conference provides insight into the potential of the
sector in Asia
13 May 2013 – 348 leaders from the venture philanthropy and social investment sector
attended the inaugural Asian Venture Philanthropy Conference in Singapore that has just
closed. The culmination of the successful conference marks the beginning of what promises
to be an exciting journey for venture philanthropy practitioners in the region.
The conference brought together attendees from more than 30 countries from around the
world and from a range of organisations including leading foundations, private equity funds,
family offices, social enterprises, academic institutions, the corporate sector and
government.
The tone for the conference was set by Lawrence Lien, chairman of the Lien Foundation, and
Paul Carttar, senior partner at the Bridgespan Group and the founding director of the Social
Innovation Fund in the USA, who delivered the opening keynotes. Both emphasized the
need for collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. Carttar said that “the (social) problems
are significant, complex and entrenched, and we are few, and with scarce resources,”
highlighting the need for events such as the AVPN conference which bring together
practitioners from diverse fields.

2. Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (Charity Registration UEN 201016116M)
General contact: info@avpn.asia
Office: 33A Circular Road, Singapore 049389
(Registered office: 80Robinson Road, #02-00, Singapore 068898)
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The conference succeeded in its key objectives of providing a platform for leaders both from
across Asia and from other parts of the world to come together to discuss and share their
experiences in venture philanthropy and social investing in their different markets or across
different sectors that they are active in.
This was done through breakout sessions along the lines of different sectors, geographies
and themes. A few of the sectors addressed included children and education, healthcare and
water. There were also separate sessions providing regional insights into Greater China,
South Asia and Southeast Asia. Some of the sector-specific themes addressed included
impact assessment, fundraising, mobilizing human capital and effective due diligence.
An exchange of ideas, thoughts and experiences is especially important in Asia, where
venture philanthropy and social investing are still at a nascent stage. The AVPN conference
was the first regional platform for just that. Patsian Low, director at the National Volunteer
and Philanthropy Centre, echoed that and said the conference was “a great opportunity for
exposure and engagement so that more can be learnt from each other in what would
otherwise be an opaque philanthropic sector”.
Delegates at the conference called it “engaging” and “invaluable” among other things. AVPN
founder chairman Doug Miller, in his welcome address said the goal of the conference was
to “move interest [in venture philanthropy and social investing] to engagement and
engagement to action”. The wheels have been set in motion.
-End of Press Release-
Media Contacts
Stacey Choe, AVPN Membership Services Manager:stacey@avpn.asia, Tel: +65 91139479
Chia-Peck Wong, Conference Media Liaison: chiapeck@yahoo.com.sg,Tel: +65 86220481