Arowana ASEAN Impact Fund
Our vision is to promote generational change for Southeast Asia by democratising essential services.
Our core thesis with the Arowana Impact Fund is to deliver equal measures of impact and return. With deep knowledge and expertise across the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, we have unique access to the best entrepreneurs and opportunities in the market.
By working within our key focus areas of sustainable urbanisation, livelihood creation, education and healthcare, and financial inclusion, our investments are directed towards resolving the challenging statistics that these countries face.
Philippines
- 5 out of 10 families are deprived of basic education ¹ | About 4m children and youth are out of school ²
- 66% of Filipinos do not have bank accounts ³ | Only 10% of total loans in the business banking sector are loans for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises ⁴
- The Philippines is one of 20 countries deemed most vulnerable to the impact of natural disasters and climate change ⁵
- 44.7% household out-of-pocket payments (OOP) on healthcare6 | 43.8% of the OOP went to hospitals ⁶
Indonesia
- Indonesia is the 5th largest contributor to ocean plastic waste ⁷ | Only 9% of this waste is segregated, sorted, and recycled ⁸
- Lack of opportunities to empower women in business in a male-dominant society ⁹ | Indonesia ranks 85th in the Global Gender Gap Index ¹⁰
- Economic inequality persists despite relatively low unemployment as many jobs are in the informal sector ¹¹ | The income ratio of the richest 10% to the poorest 10% is 7.2 ¹²
- Only 32% of Indonesia’s urban population has access to an improved water source ¹³ | Continued urbanisation will lead to a strain on natural resources and challenge sustainable practices ¹⁴
Vietnam
- Vietnam has high income inequality, with a high GINI coefficient of 37.6¹⁵ | Most commercial activity in Vietnam occurs in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi ¹⁵
- Over 16% of children between the ages of five and 14 are engaged in labour ¹⁶ | 69% of its total population have no access to traditional banking services or similar³
- 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants ¹⁷ | 9k people die annually due to poor sanitation and water quality ¹⁸
- Significant limitation in available capital to help develop social entrepreneurs¹⁵ | Government support innovation and development remains inadequate¹⁵
¹ Philippine Statistics Authority, Filipino Families are Most Deprived in Education, 14th November 2018.
² Moya, Out-of-School Youth Seen to Exceed 4m, 12th August 2020.
³ Fintechnews Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia Among Top 10 Most Unbanked Countries in the World, 15th July 2021.
⁴ The Manila Times, BSP Faces a Tough Choice on MSME Lending, 6th February 2021.
⁵ Robielos, Development of Vulnerability Assessment Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction at Three Levels of Geopolitical Units in the 6 Philippines, 23rd October 2020.
⁶ Philippine Statistics Authority, Health Spending Registered 12.6 Percent Growth, Share of Health to Economy Went Up to 5.6 Percent in 2020, 14th October 2021.
⁷ ReUseThisBag, Ranking the Countries that Pollute the Oceans with the Most Plastics, 15th September 2021.
⁸ World Bank, Meet the Innovators Battling Plastic Waste in Indonesia, 31st May 2019.
⁹ Global Impact Investing Network, The Landscape for Impact Investing in Southeast Asia – Indonesia, August 2018.
¹⁰ World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Index 2020.
¹¹ Asian Development Bank, Analysis of Trends and Challenges in the Indonesian Labour Market, Accessed on 28th January 2022.
¹² World Bank, Indonesia’s Rising Divide, Accessed on 28th January 2022.
¹³ World Bank, Water Supply and Sanitation in Indonesia, Accessed on 28th January 2022.
¹⁴ Asian Development Bank, Urbanisation and Sustainability in Asia, Accessed on 28th January 2022.
¹⁵ Global Impact Investing Network, The Landscape for Impact Investing in Southeast Asia – Vietnam, August 2018.
¹⁶ Humanium, Children of Vietnam, Accessed on 28th January 2022.
¹⁷ World Health Organisation, Air Pollution in Viet Nam, Accessed on 28th January 2022.
¹⁸ Borgen Magazine, Water Security in Vietnam is Still a Government Priority, 19th May 2021.
