DBS Foundation has announced the ‘Business for Impact Grant Award’, which aims to support social enterprises and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) working on innovative solutions to address social and environmental issues. The award, now in its ninth year, recognizes and promotes businesses that successfully integrate social/environmental impact and financial profit into their models for long-term growth.
The deadline for applications is June 15, 2023.
Last year, the Grant Award expanded to include an SME category, attracting over 250 applications and indicating the growing interest in sustainable business models within the sector.
The previous year’s 23 Grant Award recipients are projected to positively impact over two million lives and livelihoods in Asia, reduce more than 100,000 tonnes of food waste, and mitigate 300 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2024.
Three Indian startups—Neomotion Assistive Solutions, Saathi Eco Innovations, and Urdhvam Environmental Technologies—were among the recipients of the grant. In addition to funding, awardees gain access to DBS resources, including preferential banking packages, skills-building and mentorship programs, and an ecosystem of like-minded businesses, investors, and enablers. This comprehensive support has helped previous awardees accelerate their growth, enhance operational capacity, expand into new markets, and deepen their social and environmental impact.
Sudarshan Chari, Executive Director, and Head- SME Banking, DBS Bank India said, “SMEs have demonstrated their ability and willingness to adopt sustainable practices. However, they often face challenges such as limited resources, insufficient bandwidth, and uncertainty about achieving scale. DBS Foundation’s Business for Impact Grant Award aims to assist such enterprises in transitioning to sustainable and impact-driven models. In addition to the grant, we offer a range of sustainable financing and ecosystem platform solutions to accelerate their transformation journey.”