In late June 2023, I attended the AVPN conference 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, a gathering of over 1,200 people from the social impact sector.  It was an event I had not imagined I would have the chance to attend.  Two reasons brought me to the AVPN conference 2023 in KL, which over 1,200 people attended.   

The first is that AVPN, the host for the 2023 AVPN conference in Malaysia, has chosen to partner with the Malaysia Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (“MVCA”), of which I am the current chairperson.  Secondly, I attribute this to my attention to the agrifood tech and agritech for some time, starting with investment in Mimosatek in Vietnam in 2015. 

One of the key observations I gathered from the AVPN Conference is an overwhelming recognition for impact investors to start looking at balancing impact outcomes and financial returns, given the rise of the importance of sustainability of businesses/projects that investors are backing.  This provides me with the optimism that conventional capital would find a way to balance its financial returns objectives with impact outcomes.  I was encouraged when the 2023 GIINSIGHT Impact Investing Allocations, Activity & Performance reported the following key insight: 

“Impact investors can achieve market-rate returns with nearly all investors meeting or exceeding their financial and impact performance expectations.” 

The same report also shared that the key to success for investors is to identify the right investment structures and instruments with the potential for scalability and long-term sustainability; similarly, from the other end of the spectrum, I wish also to see the conventional investors could incorporate meaningful impact performance expectation while achieving market-rate returns. 

I shared this at a panel discussion at the AVPN Conference: 

1. Smallholder farmers are key to sustainably feeding the world, but a lot needs to be done. The supply chain needs to cater for crop diversity, and a new platform could help achieve this through aggregation and providing economies of scale.  Separately, I am also encouraged by media coverage that talks about large producers and processors are looking to crop diversification and have started to find sustainable and equitable ways to work with small farmers, but I am cognizant that pressure towards growth and profitability will always be the counter weigh.
2. For stakeholders tackling the agrifood and agritech opportunities, the frame of mind should be no different from any enterprise sales.  We have to ask, “What’s in it for you?” and not neglect the livelihood perspective of smallholder farmers.  All impact measures one is trying to achieve, such as carbon emission reduction or water usage, etc., do not mean much to farmers unless we have a way to translate them into something that will impact their livelihood.  Therefore, for any derived financial benefits from any environmentally friendly solution (say, nature-based solution), investors need to think about how inclusive the ecosystem could be in the distribution of such benefits. 

The 2023 AVPN Conference was a valuable and enriching experience for me and the Association, as it exposed us to the world of impact investment. A new friend from UNDP shared that companies with impact focus are more likely to thrive and profit in the long term and enhance their ventures’ appeal. I will ensure that more discussions on impact will occur within MVCA in the future.  

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to AVPN for inviting me as a speaker and special thanks to David Lim and Eunice Ho from AVPN, Lisa Genasci (ADM Capital), Abhijit Ray (UC Inclusive Credit) and Arthur Yap (Agrilever) for making the Panel session a pleasant one and to everyone who took time to talk and connect with me during the conference; I have met so many amazing people. 

 Sai Kit Ng, Director, Artem