Inside Look: Transformational Business Network (TBN) Asia Conference 2018 — Fighting Poverty Through Enterprise
by Phearak Svay
Background
From 1–3 August 2018, Asia P3 Hub’s Senior WASH and Partnership Advisor, Phearak Svay attended the TBN Asia 2018 Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia as a panelist for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues. The actual conference was held for the first two days followed by 10 “impact trips” — field visits in the last day to enterprises and impactful projects focusing on youth and women entrepreneurship, housing, microfinance, livelihood, child development and education.
Every year, TBN Asia holds an event to bring together influential leaders and high-level stakeholders to focus on accelerating impact investment in Southeast Asia.
This year’s event consisted of 20 sessions covering the following themes:
1. From Philanthropy to Sustainability
2. Women Social Entrepreneurs
3. Young Social Entrepreneurs
4. Coaching + Mentoring of Leaders
5. Companies to Watch
6. Fintech — Banking the Unbankable
In total, there were 67 speakers at the event. There were also 81 exhibitors (including Asia P3 Hub) who exhibited their work to conference participants.
The event was a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge, make connections, learn about the latest innovations and engage with inclusive and high impact enterprises making a positive difference in the lives of people in Asia Pacific
Phearak reflects about his time at the event below:
Sanitation, Sanitation, Sanitation
I had the honour of being a panelist for the WASH sector, sitting alongside startups that have developed innovative solutions to solve the complex problems of WASH. I made a decision to focus my talk on sanitation. Of course, we know that water, sanitation and hygiene need to go hand in hand. However, progress on sanitation has always been known to lag behind water. A recent WHO/UNICEF JMP report points out that while only one in five countries below 95% universal water coverage are on track to achieve universal basic water services by 2030, just one in ten countries below 95% access to basic toilet are on track to achieve universal basic sanitation by 2030 (2017).
A participant during the event mentioned that sanitation is more difficult to address than water. But we need to have the courage to invest more of our effort into sanitation and not shy away from our responsibility because it’s more difficult achieve. This is not to suggest divestment from water, rather that investment in sanitation needs to be bumped up and accelerated. Are we willing to take greater risk?
Impact Investment: A Balance Between Social Change and Profit
One comment from a representative of one of the impact investment firms that participated in the event addressed the fact that there are impact investors who want to have high financial return while also expecting social impact. He said that impact investors can’t expect to have both high financial return and high social impact at the same time. This rang particularly true in my opinion. Social enterprises don’t put profit-making at the forefront of their business; they are there to make a positive change while also generating some level of financial return.
So, perhaps we should then think about what constitutes as returns on investment. More and more, “returns on investment” is becoming broadened from just the financial aspect to include a social one. Taking a blended approach to investment is good in the long term: more jobs, healthier communities and societies, etc. This in turn can attract businesses and allows the government to provide more infrastructure and services. Thus, what impact investors can expect in terms of returns should include social returns and a financial return that is reasonable.
Change Makers, They’re Getting Younger and Younger!
There were quite a lot of inspiring innovations that caught my attention. For example, AffordAble, which provides affordable housing that takes 1–2 days to erect, is very suitable for the emergency context and low-income communities. Or take inspiration from HiGi Energy that turns hyacinth — an invasive plant that poses an environmental threat to waterways and bodies — into environmentally friendly charcoals that are more durable. I was also impressed by the Picha Project, based in Malaysia, which gives hope to refugees from countries such as Iraq, Syria, Myanmar by working with them to deliver and cater authentic traditional meals from different cultures. What I found the most inspiring is that some of these startups were founded by young women and men who dared to be crazy enough to go out and change the world. The world desperately needs change makers like these ones so that one day we will see the world living together in harmony, peace and equity.
One + One = Three
The private sector, government, investors and non-profit sector can make tremendous contributions to achieving SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all). Everyone has a role to play in the different parts of the value chain of WASH delivery. For example, government donors’ grants and philanthropists’ donations will allow upfront capital investment whereas angel investors’ investment may be used as blended finance so that projects can be investment-ready to attract more investors in the long run. What’s important is that these stakeholders should work together willingly, and this is where I see one plus one equals three. We will achieve more when we pool resources together. Our experience working with a large corporate to design a hand washing station for a school in Indonesia shows just that. We learned that neither of the parties involved would have achieved what we were able to accomplish collectively if we hadn’t come together.
Enthusiasm for a Multi-Sector Approach is Growing
Many people from different sectors came together for this one event. These events provide great opportunities to connect the dots and see who can play what role in the value chain. Once we make these connections, we must make sure that they go beyond just an event.
If you want to learn from other social enterprises in the region, seek mentorship and coaching, find enterprises to invest in, connect with investors or seek opportunities for scalability, events such as the TBN Asia Conference are the ones you should proactively attend. Find out how you can fulfill your role in value chains to deliver greater social impact. Or vice versa — find out how others can contribute to your project. You never know what prospects are out there if you don’t start by seeking them!
Thank you TBN Asia for giving Asia P3 Hub the opportunity to be part of its event!
