DBS Foundation (DBSF) has selected 22 Businesses for Impact (BFIs) from across its key markets
[1], including four enterprises from India, to receive funding under its Annual Grant Award programme. Chosen from over 1,500 applicants, the cohort of final grantees will receive total funding of SGD 4.5 million, to help scale their businesses and hence help communities in need. The impact from these 22 ventures is projected to collectively benefit over 800,000 beneficiaries over the next two years.
The BFIs are aligned with the DBS Foundation’s focus areas - providing essential needs (e.g. basic education, nutrition, healthcare) and fostering inclusion through upskilling, increasing employability and other opportunities. Tackling the challenges of ageing societies is an issue that affects many parts of Asia and is a growing concern in India as well. It is a key priority for the DBSF and a quarter of this year’s grantees are dedicated to this cause. The grant programme builds on DBSF’s broader efforts to scale longevity businesses that meet the needs of ageing societies. This includes the Impact Beyond Award, launched in 2024, which aims to identify and support visionary businesses developing solutions that help individuals age with dignity, purpose, and joy.
The DBSF grant programme empowers innovative social enterprises and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) that drive positive impact by providing them with both capital and expertise to scale. Beyond the funding, grantees benefit from comprehensive support from the bank, including targeted guidance, mentorship, capacity-building, networking opportunities, and more. Since 2015, DBS Foundation has provided more than SGD 21.5 million
[2] in grant funding to over 160 Businesses For Impact and the programme’s alumni have gone on to raise 10x in further funding for themselves.
Azmat Habibulla, Managing Director and Head - Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank India, said, “As a purpose driven bank, we are committed to empowering the communities that we live and work in. The DBS Foundation’s annual grant program is a core pillar of this commitment and goes beyond banking to support innovative organisations that are trying to address some of the most challenging issues with inclusive solutions. We are incredibly proud of this year’s grantees, comprising the four outstanding Businesses for Impact from India, whose work aligns with our vision of uplifting the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable. By providing them with mentorship, expertise and the resources needed to scale their solutions sustainably, we aim to create a better, more equitable future for all."
The four Grant Awardees from India are:
