Rich young Asians urged to build culture of giving ‘boldly’ to tackle climate change, inequality

Philanthropy can help plug gaps exacerbated by the pandemic, with the younger generation more conscious about being part of the solution, speakers at Asia’s largest philanthropic gathering said

Asia’s scions have the potential to drive real change and make investments that create a net positive social impact, they added

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A woman walks with her umbrella to avoid the heat wave on a hot afternoon in Mumbai, India in April 2023. Swathes of Asia are heavily exposed to the climate crisis. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:52pm, 22 Jun 2023Updated: 10:21pm, 22 Jun 2023

Asia’s super-rich are being urged into philanthropy to help tackle the overlapping crises facing the region, from climate change to poor access to education and healthcare, as mountains of family money are transferred to a younger, more socially conscious generation willing to give.

This week in Kuala Lumpur, 1,300 delegates joined Asia’s largest philanthropic gathering, hosted by Singapore-based Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) and Yayasan Hasanah, the social impact arm of Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.

The focus on social impact comes during a golden era of wealth creation across Asia – mirrored by widening inequality which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

The number of US-dollar millionaires in Asia is poised to double to nearly 80 million by the end of the decade, according to a 2022 report by HSBC, outstripping the United States as the global growth pole shifts east.

Yet the World Bank says hundreds of millions remain trapped in extreme poverty across Asia, with vast swathes of the continent also heavily exposed to the climate crisis, the lingering impact of the pandemic, as well as the risks of disruption to labour markets wrought by artificial intelligence.

Philanthropy has the potential to plug some of the gaps.

“We’re seeing the biggest transfer of wealth in human history,” said Tristan Ace, chief programme officer for AVPN, which acts as a gateway to givers and social enterprises across Asia.

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