Officially launched in September 2023, PAA is a Temasek Trust initiative dedicated to catalysing collaborative philanthropy through multi-sector partnerships. Temasek established Temasek Trust in 2007 to steward philanthropic assets and gifts from donors.
USAID is the largest funding agency for humanitarian and development aid worldwide; the agency provided assistance to about 130 countries in 2024. Speaking on a podcast in July, Seow said philanthropic capital can help bridge the gaps left by declining government aid in tackling environmental issues. However, private capital must still step up and “work its magic”.
“We want to do what we can do, [but] philanthropy should not be a band-aid. Okay, it fixes this gap, but when the funding comes back, we withdraw — that’s not the way it works,” says Seow to The Edge Singapore. “We are there to really trigger and catalyse government and private action, and I think that’s the use of philanthropy — with or without the development aid.”
In fact, the ongoing pullback in aid is a crucial time for philanthropists to consider “resilience versus reliance”, he adds. “It is really a time for us all to force ourselves to think about what philanthropy’s role is in the overall context.”
According to Seow, there is “still a big gap to bridge” in getting philanthropists to consider “more impactful ways” to deploy their capital, and blended finance is an appropriate structure. “I’m kind of hopeful [that] at least in the climate space, there are a lot more conversations. In the ocean space, it is still nascent, but we hope that more partners will come on.”
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Sept 8 that the Green Investments Partnership (GIP) had achieved its first close with US$510 million ($655 million) of committed capital from global and regional private, public and philanthropic institutions.
The blended finance partnership under Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (Fast-P) initiative drew investors and financiers like the Australian government (represented by Export Finance Australia), International Finance Corporation, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, HSBC, Temasek, British International Investment, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Allied Climate Partners.
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Pentagreen Capital, the sustainable infrastructure debt financing platform established by HSBC and Temasek, serves as the fund manager for GIP. GIP will deploy debt financing for climate-related, marginally bankable sustainable infrastructure projects across renewable energy and storage, electric vehicle infrastructure, sustainable transport, water and waste management and other sectors critical to Southeast and South Asia’s energy transition.
GIP’s first close welcomed both commercial and concessional capital, notes Seow. “I hope more people will think along those lines.”
Seow speaking on a panel at the AVPN Global Conference 2025 in Hong Kong. Photo: AVPN
Looking west
PAA may be headquartered in Singapore, but the Temasek Trust initiative is increasingly active in the borders of the region, including India, China and the Middle East, which Seow refers to as “West Asia”.
“We’re also beginning to forge West Asian ties, and that’s super interesting, because I think the UAE is really looking beyond the Emirates to try and see how they can establish themselves as a philanthropic hub and also collaborate with partners beyond West Asia,” says Seow on the sidelines of the AVPN Global Conference 2025 in Hong Kong.
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Seow’s comments echo those of AVPN CEO Naina Batra, who leads Asia’s largest network of social investors. Speaking at AVPN’s 2024 conference in Abu Dhabi last year, Batra said it is “crucial” to include West Asia for its strategic importance. “It occupies a pivotal geopolitical position, serving as a bridge between Asia, Africa and Europe. Its strategic location and abundant natural resources make it a key player in global affairs.”
Seow adds: “We hope that PAA and, say, the UAE, will be able to collaborate on projects, whether it’s in the Middle East or in Southeast Asia.”
PAA’s annual Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS), which is held alongside Temasek’s Ecosperity Week in the second quarter of each year, has grown in scale to rival the main event.
Bill Gates himself spoke at PAS 2025, where he announced the Gates Foundation’s plans for a Singapore office.
The plenary dialogue between Bill Gates (left), President Tharman Shanmugaratnam (centre) and moderator Jennifer Lewis, strategic partnerships lead and co-head of collaboration and partnerships at Temasek Trust. Photo: Temasek Trust
PAS 2026 will be “a little bit more pan-Asian”, says Seow, with more representation from China, India and West Asia. “We’ve largely been very strong in Southeast Asia because we’re headquartered in Singapore. Temasek Foundation, our sibling organisation, has been working in the region for 17 years, so we’re more familiar with Southeast Asia. But this is a time where we want to bring the South Asian conversation into Singapore — India, then the West Asian conversation [and the] North Asia conversation.”
Growing the alliance
PAA aims to “drive impactful projects”, says Seow, who was CEO of Mediacorp before joining Temasek in 2017.
This compels PAA to “find difficult things to do”, says Seow of the alliance’s close to 60 members, which have pledged various amounts. PAA does not force them to deploy these pledged funds; instead, the alliance “nudges” its members to “move faster”, says Seow.
Unlike AVPN, PAA does not charge an annual membership fee. “What we want to do is really to make sure that the members that join PAA are intentional, and are quite focused on doing something useful in health, climate or education in certain parts of Asia,” Seow adds.
In January, an initiative by Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) called Decarbonising Rice won a World Economic Forum (WEF) award for its work on reducing methane emissions, conserving water and increasing rice yields.
A 30-month trial proved that the initiative boosted rice yield by up to 10%, cut water use by up to 50% and even halved methane emissions, a gas that traps more heat than carbon dioxide.
“PAA and some funders like the Gates Foundation, for example, have funded this project, and right now it’s trialling across three markets: Laos, Indonesia and India,” says Seow. “We want to make sure that it’ll one day be sold in supermarkets in Asia and the world. It means that PAA will journey with the funders, the lab and the scientists to take it beyond philanthropic capital. Are there members and partners we can introduce to them that will help them with the offtake, the demand and eventually, supply chain adoption?”
Seow adds: “If it’s one-to-one, then we have no additionality; we then don’t see a reason why we need to step in. But where there are really big challenges and more than one party can help solve it, that’s when we come in.”
PAA is run by a team of 14. “The 14 belies the fact that we actually have quite a good ecosystem to back us up, from Temasek Trust and all,” says Seow.
The alliance’s first 18 months were “very much about putting its brand out there”, Seow adds. “PAA 2.0, which is what I’m trying to pivot to, is really about driving impact — how we are being thoughtful about making sure that there are projects one day that really will make a difference to climate and people, not just: ‘Oh, the pilot’s over, it’s done and dusted.’”
Read more about PAA and the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025:
Rethinking philanthropy for a new global reality (May)
Time for philanthropy to play larger role in climate change in Asia: Ravi Menon (May)
‘Green revolution’ needed to solve issues like food systems and nutrition, says President Tharman (May)
Temasek Trust’s impact marketplace Co-Axis secures $1.25 mil in catalytic capital (May)
Read more about AVPN:
AVPN’s social investing platform ImpactCollab launches Outcomes Marketplace with Tri-Sector Associates (September)
