SINGAPORE, February 21, 2022 — Wavemaker Impact (WMI), a climate tech venture builder in Southeast Asia, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today announced a partnership to support the development of scalable and sustainable technology companies.

Under the three-year partnership, UNDP will offer training, tools and support, covering practical impact measurement and management frameworks, to WMI to evaluate and elevate its social and environmental impact at the level of individual companies, its investment portfolio and the firm. The four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in focus are Goal 13: Climate Action, Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. UNDP has developed special SDG Impact standards for various asset classes including PE/VC funds, as well as operates a dedicated network of Impact Venture Accelerators (UNDP IVA) that integrate impact aspects in incubation and acceleration of ventures.  

The SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

“We invest in entrepreneurs to co-build venture-grade companies that solve business problems and reduce emissions at scale. Our intention is to co-found ‘100 x 100’ companies - companies with the potential to abate 100 million metric tons of carbon emissions and make US$100 million in revenue on an annual basis. We are proud to work with UNDP to deliver such an impact in Southeast Asia,” said Doug Parker, one of WMI’s Founding Partners.

“Tech companies have an increasingly important role to play in helping the world to achieve the Global Goals — from tackling climate change to driving the protection of our natural world,” said Usha Rao-Monari, Under-Secretary-General, UN, and Associate Administrator, UNDP. 

“This new partnership will provide critical support to the ‘impact’ startups of the future, which can serve as a model on how the private sector can address the development challenges of tomorrow,” added Kanni Wignaraja, Assistant Secretary-General, UN, Assistant Administrator, UNDP and Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.

The partnership comes after WMI forged an agreement with the government agency Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to support the setup and growth of the Wavemaker Impact platform and their incubated startups.

To support and contribute to Singapore’s enhanced ambition for reaching ‘Net Zero’ emissions by or around mid-century, WMI works with proven entrepreneurs to launch a new generation of startups that deliver carbon impact through creating new business models that address gaps in the market. The WMI team has identified more than 50 opportunity areas in spaces, such as land use and carbon sinks, agriculture and food, transport, industrial processes, and energy.

WMI, which targets US$25 million for its first venture build fund, was founded by veterans who have invested in over 200 startups and built more than 15 sustainability startups, and have stellar track records in growing successful and scalable businesses. They include Steve Melhuish, PropertyGuru founder and impact investor; Doug Parker, ex-COO of Nutonomy; Paul Santos, Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners in Southeast Asia; and Quentin Vaquette and Marie Cheong, who built more than 10 climate tech startups during their time at ENGIE Factory, the Asia-based venture arm of a global low-carbon utility.



About Wavemaker Impact

<https://wavemakerimpact.com/>

Wavemaker Impact is a first-of-its-kind climate tech venture builder in Southeast Asia. The Wavemaker Impact team co-founds sustainability-focused businesses with proven entrepreneurs, with the goal of reducing 10% of the global carbon budget by 2035. It aims to rally individuals, investors, and businesses that care about the planet and want to make a rapid, tangible change in reducing carbon emissions. Contact us at impact@wavemaker.vc.

About Wavemaker Partners

<https://wavemaker.vc/sea/>

Wavemaker Partners is Southeast Asia’s go-to VC firm investing in early-stage enterprise, deep tech, and sustainability startups. Since 2012, it has backed 170+ companies, of which 145+ (85%) are in enterprise and deep tech. The firm has over US$350 million in AUM across four funds in the region, and has seen over 10 exits valued at over US$700 million. Today, more than 75% of Wavemaker’s active portfolio startups in Southeast Asia are aligned with at least one UNDP Sustainable Development Goal.

About the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

[www.undp.org](http://www.undp.org)

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

Climate tech venture builder Wavemaker Impact partners with United Nations Development Programme

Wavemaker Partrners doesn’t just want to invest in climate tech and sustainability startups. It also wants to help build them. Today, the Singapore-based firm announced the launch of [](https://wavemakerimpact.com/)Wavemaker Impact, a venture builder that identifies potential business opportunities, finds seasoned entrepreneurs to turn those ideas into startups and acts like a co-founder as companies scale.

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