Lorinet Foundation has active investments in the following Impact Funds:
Water and Energy
Pioneer Facility
The mission of the Pioneer Facility is to provide affordable working capital for enterprises producing and distributing sustainable energy, clean water and sanitation solutions to low income populations in developing countries in Asia and Africa. The Facility’s unique proposition is its emphasis on enabling these enterprises to scale and facilitating access to medium-size uncollateralized loans that help the enterprise to build a credit history. It provides simple impact metrics to demonstrate contributions towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and adequate risk mitigation for senior investors until the fund reach profitability.
For more information please see press release and/or the brochure.
Education and Jobs
Social Impact Guarantee: YMCA Singapore
In a new three-way partnership between Social Service Agency YMCA of Singapore, donor TL Whang Foundation Limited, and impact guarantor Lorinet Foundation, the first Social Impact Guarantee (SIG) has been launched. The objective of the SIG is to support youth not in employment, education, or training to pursue vocational training and employment under the YMCA’s Vocational and Soft Skills Programme (VaSSP). Tri-Sector Associates was instrumental in fostering this collaboration by partnering with YMCA and exploring innovative ways of encouraging public and private organisations to be involved in social service in Singapore.
With this SIG, YMCA will introduce three enhancements to VaSSP in order to increase the effectiveness of the programme. The youth who are unable to enter further education or employment at the end of the programme will have access to an extended 3-month period of support from social workers and go through an enhanced learning programme that includes career discovery workshops.
The improvements will help the youth navigate the job search process, support them in overcoming obstacles in their personal lives and social environments, and provide them a tailored programme to bridge their learning to real-life application. The YMCA foresees this to lead to over $400,000 of additional impact over five years, in the form of increasing the youth re-engagement rate from 62% to 75%.
Pioneering Venture Philanthropy Fund
The Pioneering Venture Philanthropy Fund aims to make social impact in Singapore through investing both financial and non-financial resources over time.Through close partnership with the National Council of Social Services (NCSS) and Community Chest, the fund invests in four specific programs that address critical, and underserved needs within the community, namely the Employee Assistance Program+, Project Elevate,Project SPIN and Project WiSHINE.
- Employee Assistance Program+
Provides timely support to employees with or at risk of having mental health issues, as well as employers and co-workers.The program is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team comprising of mental health professionals and peer support specialists.The scope of services includes workplace intervention for employees (onsite or offsite), training and advisory support for employers and co-workers and, information and referrals to appropriate agencies for follow up if needed. - Project ELEVATE
Engages, equips and empowers disadvantaged or disengaged students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) towards completing their education and improving their prospects for employment and/or further education. It is a multipurpose social service program through which ITE students are enlisted to conceptualize and execute initiatives that address community needs using skills related to their course of study. - Project SPIN.
A community-based program aims at improving the capacity of single parents to care for their children through the Ally Network and the Information-and-Outreach Portal. - Project WiSHINE
Supports senior widows, aged 50 and above, in their journey of grief to help them cope with their loss, and gain confidence and socio-emotional support through peers as they adjust to this different phase of life. Upon referral, a counsellor-case worker conducts an intake assessment and develops an individual care plan for each client. Within her care plan, the widow goes through different tiers of intervention based on her needs such as grief counselling, attending peer support groups and mentoring.
Prodigy Finance
Prodigy Finance offers loans to international postgraduate students attending top universities around the world. The organization aims to close the gaps and requirements experienced by international students while obtaining competitive international degrees. Through Prodigy Finance’s community platform, alumni, impact investors, and other private qualified entities invest in tomorrow’s leaders whilst earning a financial and social return.
To date, more than $325 million in Prodigy Finance loans have been disbursed to over 7,100 students from 118 countries. The platform is making substantial progress in education attainment across the world as over 80% of the borrowers declare not having access to any other means of financing their studies. By allowing students from varied backgrounds to access international education, Prodigy Finance is contributing to the diversity of the top universities. Prodigy Finance also enables the alumni of top schools to help finance education of other students from their alma mater or home country, while earning a financial return.
Edukasyon.ph
In the Philippines, out of two million youth who turn 18 each year, up to 90 percent are left behind between higher education to employment, contributing to poor life outcomes.
Edukasyon.ph launched in 2015 as a solution to centralize information and resources, and to facilitate online inquiries and applications to various senior high schools and colleges, so that students can take control of their options and be equipped for better decision-making.
Building on its comprehensive search-and-apply platform for schools and scholarships, Edukasyon.ph has expanded over the years to connect students to online courses, technical-vocational programs and internships. With its multimedia content offering, Edukasyon.ph also provides students guidance for navigating student life and career preparation.
In partnership with more than 500 educational institutions across the Philippines and around the world, as well as 50 corporations and foundations, Edukasyon.ph now helps nearly 10 million students each year to make self-aware education decisions that lead to a fulfilling career and life.
Lorinet Foundation is supporting Edukasyon.ph to accelerate product development, reach and engagement – to improve education to employment outcomes for the Filipino youth.