NEW DELHI — Philippine companies could gain greater access to corporate and philanthropic funding through a new regional platform that aims to support development projects and strengthen partnerships across Southeast Asia.
The Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) and social impact platform AVPN on Wednesday launched the Asean CSR Working Group, which will support more strategic deployment of corporate capital across the region.
“Countries such as the Philippines stand to benefit from the Asean CSR Working Group and gain stronger regional connections between corporate capital, community needs and public-policy priorities,” AVPN CEO Naina Subberwal Batra told The Manila Times during the launch in New Delhi.
“The Working Group can help Filipino companies move beyond fragmented, program-based CSR (corporate social responsibility) towards more strategic social investment, drawing on shared learning, partnerships and proven approaches from across Southeast Asia,” she added.
Batra said the Asean-BAC CSR Working Group could strengthen connections among corporate capital, community needs and public-policy priorities in countries such as the Philippines.
The Asean-BAC and AVPN started establishing the working group in May and officially launched it during the AVPN Global Conference 2026.
For the Philippines, Batra said the regional platform could provide Philippine businesses with greater opportunities to mobilize different forms of private capital for development concerns that are closely interconnected.
Among the areas she identified were climate resilience and disaster preparedness; inclusive livelihoods for micro, small and medium enterprises; health and education; and a just digital transition.
“It can also create pathways for local social enterprises, civil society organizations and community-based innovators to connect with regional funders, corporate partners and peer organizations,” Batra said.
The broader objective, she added, is to make corporate capital more coordinated and strategic rather than limiting CSR to individual programs or one-off initiatives.
“Its value lies in enabling countries to bring their own local realities and solutions into a trusted Asean-wide dialogue, while accessing the relationships, knowledge and capital needed to scale what works,” Batra said.
“We see the Philippines’ dynamic private sector and strong tradition of community-led action as important strengths that can both benefit from and contribute meaningfully to the Working Group’s regional collaboration.”
The initiative comes as Southeast Asia enters what Batra described as a “critical period” for sustainable economic transformation, with rising demand for private capital to address priorities such as climate transition, health resilience and inclusive economic growth.
The working group will also seek to address what Asean-BAC and AVPN described as fragmented approaches to corporate social responsibility and social investment across Southeast Asian markets, where differences in definitions and implementation and limited coordination have made it harder to scale initiatives.
It is also expected to support the Asean-BAC’s legacy projects by helping secure longer-term capital and policy support, while creating opportunities for cross-border partnerships among businesses, investors and other stakeholders.
The working group will also provide a venue for regional policy discussions and collaboration among businesses, philanthropists, investors and policymakers.
“Through the Asean CSR Working Group, we aim to better align private sector action with regional priorities, while strengthening partnerships and unlocking capital flows to accelerate inclusive and sustainable growth across Southeast Asia,” Asean-BAC Executive Director Rifki Weno said.
AVPN, meanwhile, will lead knowledge and capacity-building initiatives, facilitate ecosystem engagement and develop corporate excellence frameworks intended to recognize leadership in social innovation.
