As CEO of AVPN, Asia’s largest network of social investors with more than 700 members across 43 markets, I’ve seen firsthand how strategic capital transforms communities. Looking back, 2025 was a year of intentional groundwork that now positions us for a pivotal 2026.
Since our founding in 2011, AVPN has served as the connective tissue of Asia’s social investment ecosystem. We have mobilised capital across the continent, launched philanthropic funds, raising over $51m across climate, gender, and health initiatives, and built platforms such as ImpactCollab – Asia’s first outcomes-based social investing system.
The region’s deep traditions of zakat, waqf, and sadaqah offer values-driven approaches to giving that align naturally with modern impact investing. West Asian investors, particularly the rising next generation, are increasingly focused on measurable outcomes, ESG, and long-term social value. Yet until recently, they remained largely disconnected from Asia’s wider impact ecosystem. That needed to change.
Our journey to West Asia accelerated in 2024, when we hosted the AVPN Global Conference 2024 in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of HH Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. More than 1,500 delegates from 44 markets joined us, and UAE-based organisations collectively committed $125m toward climate resilience, poverty alleviation, and global health. We also launched partnerships including a landmark UAE-Indonesia pact to tackle plastic pollution.
That overwhelming response validated what many of us already sensed: Abu Dhabi is becoming a strategic gateway linking Asia, the Gulf, and Africa in sustainable and impact-driven development, and that West Asia was ready to engage with Asia’s social investment ecosystem.
In November 2025, we made it official with the opening of our West Asia Hub in Abu Dhabi, selected for its global connectivity, its leadership in humanitarian and development efforts, and its rapidly expanding ecosystem of organisations committed to long-term social and environmental progress. Our presence here ensures that West Asian investors can engage fully with AVPN’s pan-Asian network of 700 members and more than 400 investable opportunities. We have also recently launched AVPN Academy, a first-of-its-kind, in-person West Asia training hub.
The academy equips participants with practical frameworks and tools while fostering a connected, strategic, and impactful learning community across the region. As this community grows, it will help the growth of West Asia’s impact capital towards solving Asia’s social and environmental challenges.
The past year was transformative for AVPN. With our network we have raised more than $520bn to date. AVPN alone has raised more than $51m, supported by 22 funders, benefiting more than 160 grantees working in health, youth mental wellbeing, gender, climate, STEM education, and AI training.
Our Climate x Health Lighthouse Fund advanced resilience strategies across the region, while the Asia Gender Equality Fund continued deploying $25m to improve women’s economic participation. Also, with support of Google.org and the Asian Development Bank, we launched a $15m AI Opportunity Fund. In the first phase, the fund had selected 48 grantees. In May 2025, an additional $10m was contributed to the fund. In September, our Global Conference in Hong Kong brought together 1,550 delegates.
At the same time, West Asian investors continued to show increasing interest in our climate, gender, and health initiatives. Their values-driven approach to giving aligns powerfully with data-driven philanthropy and measurable impact – two principles at the heart of AVPN’s work.
With our West Asia Hub now firmly established, 2026 marks the year of activation. Our inaugural West Asia Summit 2026 – to be held in Abu Dhabi in March 2026 – will bring together regional philanthropists, family offices, businesses, development finance institutions, and policymakers to explore impact opportunities grounded in the region’s priorities: climate adaptation, food and water security, youth empowerment, and gender equity.
My vision is simple: AVPN must serve all of Asia including West Asia.By combining regional traditions of generosity with modern tools, data, and collaborative networks, we can unlock unprecedented impact at a truly continental scale.
In 2025, we built the foundation. In 2026, we will activate the region. And I couldn’t be more excited for what we will achieve together.
