Regional Investment Support for Entrepreneurs

Swisscontact manages the USAID funded Regional Investment Support for Entrepreneurs (RISE) platform which provides technical assistance (TA) to companies with high potential for impact in Southeast Asia. RISE aims to create impact for the base of the pyramid by providing accessible TA to businesses with high potential for positive social and environmental impact and by mitigating risk for investors. RISE currently operates in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam and plans to expand in the future. RISE priority sectors include agriculture, digital platforms and solutions, energy, health, and water and sanitation. 
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Phnom pen, cambodia
11.5563738
104.9282099
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manila, philipines
14.5995124
120.9842195
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hanoi, vietnam
21.0277644
105.8341598
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Denpasar, Indonesia
-8.670458199999999
115.2126293
Cambodge, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonésie
Durée du projet
2017 - 2021
Financé par
  • USAID

The RISE Platform was born out of a USAID sponsored co-creation workshop in Bangkok in 2017 where a collection of donors, investors, and implementers gathered to collaborate and generate new models that could support both social impact companies and investors in the region. The resulting initiative was managed by Swisscontact in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Geographic Focus

RISE TA Facility Approach

CHALLENGES OF SMALL AND GROWING BUISNESSES AND INVESTORS

SGBs contribute as much as 53% of GDP in most South-East Asian countries, and between 50%-97% of total employment.  Many of these SGBs have strong potential for positive social and environment impacts. It is estimated that the region has up to 1 million social enterprises tackling social and environmental problems.

APPROACH AND UNIQUE FEATURES

PRODUCTS & SERVICES
In collaboration with its investor partners, RISE has developed products and services tailored for investees and those who
support them.
INNOVATIONS
RISE is unique in its regional, multi-investor, multi-sector, and multi-donor approach.
Core features include:
NEEDS ADDRESSED THROUGH TECHNICAL ASSISTANT SUPPORT
RISE provided investment readiness and post-investment TA support to growth-oriented companies with high potential for social impact through a pool of vetted consultants. RISE partnered with investors and intermediaries to identify and support eligible companies.

RESULTS

Through non-financial support services, RISE platform helped build an investable pipeline for investors and to mitigate risk within investors’ portfolios. RISE leveraged USAID grant capital to offer a discounted repayable grant. As RISE-supported businesses achieved business growth milestones, they repaied this non-financial support, generating a multiplier effect on USAID’s grant investment. Moreover, TA supported successful fundraising.

To date, RISE has mobilized USD 3.2 million worth of private capital, generating a 3 times leverage ratio for USAID’s grant.
To date, RISE has supported 20 impact companies to access 30 TA assignments which equates to over 8,043 hours of TA worth more than USD 359,000.
More than 60% of RISE’s clients are women-owned or -benefiting companies.

SDGs TARGETED

SGBs to improve social and environmental welfare are being started and built but need funding to develop. Impact investment plays a pivotal contributing role as it has unlocked private capital to address social and environmental issues.

PROJECT PARTNERS

RISE partnered with investors, strategic partners, consultants, and donors to support entrepreneurship and impact in Southeast Asia.

Investing Partners

RISE partnered with investors to support growth-oriented companies that have positive social and environmental impact. RISE explored opportunities with angel investor networks, brokers, and venture capital firms. RISE’s services improved investors’ pipeline, helped mitigate risks during growth, and supported investees successful transition from one round of fundraising to the next.

Strategic Partners

RISE formed strategic partnerships with organizations in order to expand technical assistance services to a wider range of social impact companies. RISE supported the investment readiness program of AVPN, for example, and linked potential clients to pro- and low-bono service programs such as Cross Fields, Rippleworks, and the Swisscontact Senior Expert Contact. We also partnered with incubator and accelerator programs to provide TA to their graduates.

SUSTAINABLE AND SCALABLE MODEL
The RISE platform has proven effective in addressing the “missing-middle” funding gap by integrating TA, via a TA repayment model, to support SGBs on their journey to becoming investment ready.
LESSONS LEARNT
Launching a new platform in the ecosystem is challenging in many of the same ways as starting a new business.

RISE VIDEOS

Tailored investment readiness technical assistance helps CoXplore pivot their business model
This video features RISE’s partnership with WISE and CoXplore in supporting a women-led company to pivot their business model and scale up amid the pandemic.
Siklus, an innovative business to tackle plastic pollution in Indonesia
This video features our partnership with Teja Ventures and have been worked with its investee, Siklus. Siklus aims to disrupt Base of Pyramid (BoP) retail by enabling micro-entrepreneurs to sell FMCG products without packaging.

USAID RISE CASE STUDY

RISE STORIES

RISE launches its first technical assistance assignment with Cambodia-based Natural Agriculture Village
USAID RISE Platform: Supporting Gender Lens Investing in Southeast Asia
Weathering the Storm: COVID-19 lessons from social entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia
Article on impactalpha.com (Paywall)
No matter where you are in the world, if you work somewhere in the entrepreneurial ecosystem – entrepreneur, investor, support organization – your life has unavoidably changed in recent months
How to build a community that works towards your goals: Credit Suisse is leading a movement to help social enterprises thrive
Article on avpn.asia
Funders and resource providers are often working in silos and unable to find a strong pipeline of investment-ready opportunities. At the same time, social enterprises are seeking help but are unsure about how and where to find support. To unlock Asia’s $40 trillion in private wealth for long-term, sustainable impact, resources are needed to help social enterprises and investors identify and match needs and resources as well as speak a common language of returns and social impact.