Visa becomes co-chair of the prestigious Grow Asia Business Council. — Photo Courtesy Visa Vietnam
Visa has announced that it has been elected as the incoming co-chair of the prestigious Grow Asia Business Council, a high-level advisory body bringing together company leaders to help shape Grow Asia’s partnerships, to develop a robust and market-driven approach, and to lead by example through investing in viable projects on the ground.
As announced at COP28 this year, Visa will join the incumbent co-chair, East-West Seed, which stands among the world’s largest vegetable seed companies, serving 23 million smallholder farmers worldwide.
As Grow Asia’s Business Council Co-Chair and exclusive Digital Financial Inclusion Partner, Visa is supporting the design and deployment of Grow Asia’s Public Private Impact Funds, in collaboration with other partners in the Grow Asia Network.
The collaboration spans three years from July 2022 to June 2025.
In the first year of partnership with Grow Asia, Visa participated actively in more than 30 multi-stakeholder events across the region and co-contributed to the design and scale-up of SMB-targeted projects and trainings in Indonesia, the Philippines, Việt Nam, and Cambodia.
“This engagement marks a significant step forward in our mission to uplift everyone, everywhere through digital financial inclusion,” said Dung Đặng, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos.
“Financial inclusion for smallholder farmers is at the heart of sustainable development in Việt Nam, and by collaborating closely with Grow Asia and other members of Grow Asia’s Advisory Councils, we aim to unlock new opportunities for digital finance to drive climate resilience in the agri-food sector.”
Grow Asia was established in 2015 by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to build market-driven solutions for sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia.
Financial inclusion is a cornerstone for prosperity in Southeast Asia, where small and medium-sized businesses contribute 44.8 per cent of the region’s GDP.
Despite the critical challenges posed by climate change and the availability of innovative scalable solutions, the region’s adoption of climate-resilient practices is hindered by economic and accessibility barriers.
Digitalisation and financial inclusion of smallholder farmers and rural businesses can bridge this economic gap and build resilient livelihoods.
In its role as Business Council Co-Chair with Grow Asia, Visa will enhance the knowledge and capacity of Grow Asia’s programmes, integrating digital financial solutions, promoting financial inclusion for smallholder farmers, and addressing livelihood challenges in Indonesia, the Philippines, Việt Nam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Papua New Guinea. — VNS