Press Release: Impact Investment Exchange Asia Selects 4 Innovative Social Enterprises for Impact Accelerator

Friday, March 20, 2015

IIX (Impact Investment Exchange Asia) is pleased to announce that 4 Social Enterprises (SEs) have been selected for its Philippines-based Impact Accelerator™. Impact Accelerator is an intensive acceleration program that targets early-stage SEs with high potential for growth and scalability.

Impact Accelerator received 55 applications from enterprises spanning geographically diverse locations and across a broad sector scope, including agriculture, energy, water, livelihoods, education, and healthcare. Each application was assessed on several parameters including: focus on the poor or marginalized, unique value proposition and market potential, social and environmental impact of the venture, and financial viability.

After going through a competitive selection process, the following 4 SEs have been chosen to participate in Impact Accelerator:

  • ANTHILL Fabric Gallery: A sustainable livelihoods SE that employs indigenous, rural and urban communities to transform traditional Philippines weaves into contemporary wear and accessories.
  • Hiraya Technology Solutions: A pioneering water enterprise that developed a Real-Time Adjusting Pump System (R-TAP), an advanced pressure management system to help water service providers adjust water pressure across the network to match local demand while reducing water waste.
  • Kapwa Greens: An agriculture SE that is one of the first local companies to sell herbal tea made from native plants in the Philippines. Kapwa Greens works with underprivileged women to produce the tea.
  • Sidlakpinoy: A housing and infrastructure SE that uses silt, a freely available raw material found in water bodies, to make bricks for construction using an innovative social franchising model. Silt is more environmentally friendly and less expensive than the concrete bricks that dominate the market.

Over the next 6 months, these SEs will benefit from acceleration services that will enable them to deepen their impact and become investment ready. In addition to accelerating the growth and scalability of these 4 enterprises, Impact Accelerator will play a leading role in building the Impact Investing ecosystem in the Philippines by improving the visibility of local SEs and facilitating investor engagement within the space. IIX is pleased to be working with ASSIST (Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation) as its local Philippines partner.

Source: Asia IIX (link opens in a new window)

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impact investing, social enterprise