Impact Investing & Entrepreneurship in Asia
Across Asia, women are building circular and climate-smart solutions that turn food waste into organic fertilisers, underused marine resources into sustainable blue protein, tropical seaweed into agricultural biostimulants and animal feed additives, indigenous grains into nutritious local food products, and oncology intelligence into better cancer risk prediction and patient outcomes. This regional gathering is a space to learn, connect, and collaborate with founders working across food security, climate resilience, farmer and coastal livelihoods, nutrition, and health.
Co-hosted by Impact Hub, Bayer Foundation, and The Bloom, Impact Investing & Entrepreneurship is a global spotlight series spanning three regions — Asia, Latin America, and Africa & the Middle East — featuring awardees from the Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award 2026. Rather than a traditional pitch session, each event is designed as a generous, learning- and insights-focused conversation where founders, investors, ecosystem actors, and the wider community come together to explore what entrepreneurship and impact investing look like on the ground: the opportunities emerging, the barriers founders are navigating, and the capital, partnerships and connections that could help promising ventures grow.
The Asia Edition features five awardees driving powerful ventures across the region:
Ankita Vijayvergiya – BillionCarbon. Transforming food waste into high-efficacy organic fertilisers that restore soil health, support smallholder farmers, and reduce emissions.
Maqbulatin Nuha – Berikan Protein Initiative. Turning underused fish resources into affordable, sustainable blue protein while reducing fishery waste and strengthening coastal livelihoods.
Michelle Arsjad – Aquabloom Pte Ltd. Converting Indonesian tropical seaweed into biostimulants and animal feed additives that help smallholder farmers grow more and lose less.
Pema Lhadon – Shaoulee Food Products. Processing indigenous Bhutanese grains into nutritious local food products while strengthening farmer incomes and creating dignified work for women.
Samara Mahindra – Carer. Using evidence-based oncology intelligence to help insurers and health systems predict cancer risk, improve patient outcomes, and reduce care costs.
The session will also feature Sam Ng, a Cambodian-born entrepreneur and investor based in New Zealand. As the founder of Optimal (formerly Optimal Workshop), Sam brings a founder-turned-investor perspective on building from the ground up, far from traditional venture capital hubs. He will help set the scene for Asia by sharing what he is seeing in impact investing and entrepreneurship, the challenges and opportunities emerging across the regional ecosystem, and the kinds of founder journeys, ideas, and collaborations that can unlock meaningful impact.
Who this is for
This event is for investors, funders, ecosystem builders, accelerators, foundations, journalists, academics, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in supporting women-led innovation across Asia. It is especially relevant for people looking to understand regional entrepreneurship ecosystems, discover high-impact ventures, and explore practical ways to collaborate with founders working across food systems, health, climate resilience, and inclusive livelihoods.
What will happen
You’ll hear brief founder spotlights from the five Asia awardees, alongside a regional perspective from Sam Ng, who will share his journey, work, and reflections on impact investing and entrepreneurship in Asia. The session will focus on founder journeys, regional insights, lessons learned, collaboration needs, and what founders and ecosystem actors are seeing across the Asia impact landscape — creating space for learning and exchange rather than live judging, conventional pitching, or investment decision-making.
Why join
🌎 Get a front-row seat to women leaders advancing food security, health, sustainability, climate resilience, and inclusive livelihoods across Asia.
🤝 Connect with founders, investors, and ecosystem actors interested in building meaningful regional and global collaborations.
🚀 Discover practical opportunities to support, amplify, partner with, or learn from ventures already creating measurable impact.
About the Award
The Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award, in partnership with Impact Hub Network, supports women entrepreneurs building scalable social businesses in health and food security. Each 2026 winner receives a €25,000 cash prize, a six-month investor-readiness Accelerator Programme, personalised mentorship, and access to global networks and visibility.
About The Bloom
The Bloom is a global community that connects and empowers 80,000+ social impact professionals through impact matchmaking, job boards and funding opportunities, networking and mentorship events, upskilling sprints, in-person gatherings, and a free weekly newsletter featuring social impact job openings, changemaker interviews, and career resources.