Beverley Postma, Executive Director, Grow Asia reveals Grow Asia’s projections with the Theme “Consolidate, Focus, and Scale” though four public-private programs and funds: GrowVentures, GrowHer, GrowRight, and GrowBeyond
The multi stakeholder partnership platform in Southeast Asia, Grow Asia works to catalyze inclusive agriculture development by convening governments, farmers, NGOs, private sector and other stakeholders co-create value chain initiatives aimed at empowering smallholder farmers and protecting the and environmental sustainability of agriculture. Grow Asia was established by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Grow Asia’s work guided by four operating principles:
- Smallholder-focused, keeping the farmer at the center of all initiatives and investments
- Country-led and locally-driven, owned by stakeholders and aligned with national plans, strategies and goals.
- Multi-stakeholder and inclusive, engaging government, private sector, international organizations, civil society, farmer organizations and others.
- focusing on catalyzing and expanding sustainable, inclusive investments and market-based activities
Beverley Postma, Executive Director, Grow Asia in her recent statement, projected Grow Asia’s goals with the theme “Consolidate, Focus, and Scale” through four public-private programs and funds: GrowVentures, GrowHer, GrowRight, and GrowBeyond.
Executive Director of Grow Asia says, “We know the only way to deliver transformation at scale is to increase equitable access to both technology and finance to the millions of SMEs and smallholder farmers who lie at the heart of our agri-food ecosystem. To do this, we must double down on our partnership efforts to forge effective global > regional > country impact pathways, connecting people, technology, and financial services in a way that offers a ‘win-win’ for all. This is the only route to achieving impactful global change at scale”.
“We must also continue to challenge silos by disrupting the fragmentation that is now our biggest barrier to scalable outcomes. The value of isolated, satellite and bilateral partnerships has waned. The time has come to work together to harvest the learnings from these projects by creating strategic, multi-stakeholder mechanisms that integrate the limited resources of individual actors – governments, companies, philanthropies, and civil society to deliver impact that is greater than the sum of their parts. With effective coordination, this approach will both streamline and amplify efforts to deliver sustainable economic growth across the region. At Grow Asia, we are committed to equipping the millions of enterprises in Southeast Asia that are integral to the sustainability of our future with the technology and financial services they need. We cannot do this without the ongoing support of our 660+ partners and I look forward to working with you this year to transform dialogue into opportunities, and commitment into action” adds Beverley Postma.
