Visa Partners With Grow Asia As Chairman With Business Council

Photo: Doc. Visa

JAKARTA - Visa has just been elected as the Joint Chair (Co-Chair) for Grow Asia, a high-level advisory body that unites company leaders to expand Grow Asia's partnership in order to develop a strong and market-based strategy, as well as invest in various agricultural projects.

Grow Asia was founded in 2015 by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in an effort to build market-based solutions to create a sustainable food system in Southeast Asia.

As announced at this year's COP28 event, Visa will join the previous Chair of Grow Asia, namely East-West Seed, one of the world's largest vegetable seed companies to have served more than 23 million small farmers worldwide. As a Joint Chair of Grow Asia and an exclusive Digital Financial Inclusion Partner, Visa will help design and find Public Private Impact Funds, a fund that Grow Asia has prepared to develop a sustainable agricultural system, through collaboration with other partners in Grow Asia Network.

This collaboration lasted for three years from July 2022 to June 2025. In the first year of this partnership, Visa will be directly involved in more than 30 activities involving many stakeholders throughout Southeast Asia, and contribute to designing and enhancing various projects and training targeting SMEs in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Financial inclusion is the foundation of welfare in Southeast Asia, where small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute 44.8% to total gross domestic product (GDP) in the region. In addition to the challenges of climate change and innovation limitations that can be developed, the application of agricultural practices that are resistant to the impact of climate change tends to be hampered by economic problems and accessibility in the region.

Digitalization and financial inclusion for small farmers and village businesses can be a solution to bridge the economic gap and build a more resilient livelihood.

As Chairman of Grow Asia, Visa will develop and support various programs implemented by Grow Asia in order to integrate digital financial solutions, encourage financial inclusion of small farmers, and overcome the challenges of livelihoods in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Papua New Guinea.

President Director of Visa Indonesia Riko Abdurrahman said this collaboration was a significant step in efforts to empower people around the world through digital financial inclusion.

"The financial inclusion of small farmers is one of the main foundations in sustainable development in Indonesia. Through close cooperation with Grow Asia and other members of the Advisory Council of Grow Asia, we aim to open up new opportunities in terms of digital finance to encourage resilience to climate change in the agricultural sector," explained Riko, in his statement, Monday 4 December.

Visa's commitment to encouraging digital financial inclusion and sustainable growth in Asia is not only limited to its role as Joint Chair. Visa will also make strategic investments to develop funding programs implemented by Grow Asia.

Several funding programs from Grow Asia include Grow Ventures for the agri-food sector; GrowHer for women's economic empowerment; GrowRight for environmentally friendly investment; and GrowBeyond for the application of agriculture that is resistant to the impact of climate change.

Executive Director of Grow Asia Beverley Postma said that his party is pleased to welcome Visa as the new Joint Chair of our Business Council. Visa was appointed at the right moment and became a significant momentum as the biggest challenge in our efforts to mitigate climate change in Asia is how to channel affordable financing to the farmer level.

"More than 45 percent of agricultural financing needs are still not met in this region, and rural SMEs lack access to working capital, thus hampering their ability to increase productivity and adapt to the impact of climate change. Visa's extensive experience in the digital finance sector will contribute greatly to our joint mission of empowering small farmers, governments, and agricultural companies through increased financial inclusion, as well as encouraging the adoption of practices that encourage climate change, as well as ensuring the long-term sustainability of food systems in this region," he said.