The Nippon Foundation Hosts the Third Asia Philanthropy Congress in Tokyo Under Theme of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (1)
Published on December 27, 2024
The Nippon Foundation hosted the Asia Philanthropy Congress 2024 in Tokyo on November 29 under the theme of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: To achieve an inclusive society in which all individuals can demonstrate their abilities to the fullest.” The meeting brought together about 200 leaders of the philanthropy sector from across Asia.
The Asia Philanthropy Congress was launched in 2022 as a venue for inviting the leaders of organizations in the philanthropy sector, especially foundations engaged in addressing social issues in the Asia region, and promoting cooperation and coordination aimed at solving these issues.
The third congress began with a calligraphy performance by Ms. Shoko Kanazawa, one of Japan’s leading calligraphers, with musical accompaniment by a traditional Japanese three-stringed lute shamisen and a bamboo flute shakuhachi.
On a large piece of white paper, using a large brush and black ink, she demonstrated Japanese calligraphy by painting the Japanese character kagayaki, which means “brilliance” or “radiance.”
In my opening remarks, I welcomed the participants and expressed my hope that “the day’s meeting would foster grass-roots efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across Asia.”
In her keynote address, Ms. Yoko Kamikawa, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives who served as foreign minister until October 1, underlined the importance of DEI, focusing on inclusion in particular.
Known as an advocate of gender equality in Japan and around the world, she also discussed how blended finance, incorporating governments, private-sector companies, and philanthropic organizations, can address the issues with high impact while dispersing risks in a way that none of these sectors can do on their own.
The first plenary session, titled “Building Bridges: Philanthropy and Business United for Sustainable Impact and Regional Wellbeing,” was a panel discussion moderated by The Nippon Foundation Executive Director Ichiro Kabasawa and joined by Mr. Ajay Piramal, chairman of India’s Piramal Group, Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip, founder and managing director of CARD MRI in the Philippines, and Ms. Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO of the social investment network AVPN based in Singapore.
Mr. Piramal, who is also Chairman of the Piramal Foundation, explained that in India, businesses are seen as trustees for stakeholders, which include society at large as well as customers, employees, and investors.
The government actually requires large companies in India to spend 2 percent of their profit for the public good, and many companies spend more than that, which leads to a high level of collaboration between business and philanthropy.
Mr. Piramal also pointed out the importance of taking a business approach to philanthropy in terms of verifying the impact of the money being spent, and in “doing good and doing well.” In addition, if businesses and philanthropies are able to achieve a certain degree of scale in their activities, governments will be more likely to become involved as well.
Dr. Alip founded what is now the CARD MRI group of companies as a nonprofit NGO in 1986. Although initially depending on grants, the group has become self-sufficient and grown to include companies engaged in activities including banking, insurance, and health care. He pointed out, however, that the group’s business is poverty eradication rather than the actual banking, insurance, and health care businesses. If a person is poor, they do not have the collateral to get a loan, and cannot afford insurance or access health care.
Therefore, the way to eliminate poverty is to provide access to these resources, he said, adding that the CARD MRI group’s role is to bridge the “last mile” between larger banks and medical institutions and individuals who would otherwise be unable to access their services.
Ms. Batra noted that AVPN’s membership has grown over the past decade as companies and investors realize that things like sustainable business practices and the inclusion of women in management have a positive impact on a company’s bottom line.
A generational transfer of wealth is also taking place across Asia, with the younger generation more concerned about their businesses’ effect on the environment and on communities.
This is leading to increased interest in investing in more sustainable solutions, investing with a gender lens, and looking seriously at sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
As an example, she pointed to the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) and explained that having a gender lens in blended finance does not mean simply investing in female entrepreneurs. Instead, it means looking at whether women are working in an organization and are involved in decision-making, or in other words, that business decisions are being made by actually looking at the full 100 percent of the population, she added.
(To be continued)
