Grow Asia
Grow Asia is a Singapore-based, non-profit multi-stakeholder partnership platform founded in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and ASEAN, brokering partnerships across 700+ organizations and five Country Chapters to advance sustainable agriculture and reach 2M+ smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Grow Asia does
Grow Asia is a Singapore-headquartered, non-profit multi-stakeholder partnership platform established in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and ASEAN to cultivate inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems across Southeast Asia. The organization brokers commercial and non-profit partnerships across a network of 700+ global and regional public, private, civil society, academic, and farmer organizations, structured around five Country Chapters (Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and Vietnam) and 44 Working Groups organized by cross-cutting issues or commercial value chains. Grow Asia operates a portfolio of thematic programs including GrowVentures (agri-food innovation with ICT solutions), GrowHer (women's economic empowerment), Responsible Investing, and GrowBeyond (climate resilience), alongside the ASEAN Sustainable Agriculture Loan Facility (ASALF), the Digital Learning Series, the Food Innovation Hub, and the THRIVE program in partnership with Corteva Agriscience.
The underlying "technology" is the partnership brokering architecture itself: a convener model rather than a software product. Grow Asia does not sell a platform to end users; instead, it provides knowledge-sharing infrastructure (Grow Asia Exchange), digital learning assets, and in-country delivery teams that coordinate Working Groups, government engagement, and farmer-level program execution. Country Chapter vehicles — Partnership for Indonesia's Sustainable Agriculture (PISAgro), Philippines Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (PPSA), Grow PNG Ltd., Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture in Vietnam (PSAV), and Cambodia Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (CPSA) — act as jointly controlled regional operating entities.
Grow Asia's revenue mechanics are grant- and contribution-based. Funding flows from public-private impact funds, bilateral and multilateral development partners (UK Aid, Canada, Australia/DFAT, Germany/GIZ, IFAD, FAO, World Bank, Sida, IDRC), foundations, and corporate partners (Corteva, Thai Wah, Triputra Agro Persada). Pricing is non-transactional: there are no fees for partnership participation. The recently launched GrowBeyond Fund represents a shift toward blended climate finance, with a 10-year USD 1 billion leverage target that includes concessional loans under ASALF to small agri-businesses and smallholder farmers across the region.
Grow Asia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Grow Asia
- Legal name
- Grow Asia Partnership Ltd.
- Website
- https://growasia.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Grow Asia is a Singapore-based, non-profit multi-stakeholder partnership platform founded in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and ASEAN, brokering partnerships across 700+ organizations and five Country Chapters to advance sustainable agriculture and reach 2M+ smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Grow Asia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sustainable Agriculture Partnership Platform
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems & Land Management (BPADALAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Economic Growth, Livelihoods & Private Sector Development (BPADAEAE), Agriculture & Food Security Development (BPAGABAB), Energy & Sustainability / Climate Growth Equity (FSANACAG), SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE)
Keywords
Where Grow Asia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Singapore
- HQ country
- Singapore
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices5 records
Markets served
Grow Asia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Grants and Funding: Grow Asia is funded through public-private impact funds and support from governments, development partners, and foundations. The organization operates multiple Public-Private Impact Funds including the GrowBeyond Fund designed to leverage climate finance through blended financing models.
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Grow Asia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Grow Asia is a non-profit multi-stakeholder partnership platform that brokers commercial and non-profit partnerships among 700+ public, private, civil society, academic, and farmer organizations in Southeast Asia. It delivers programs across four thematic areas (Agri-Food Innovation, Women's Empowerment, Responsible Investing, Climate Resilience) through five Country Chapters, 44 Working Groups, and public-private impact funds that channel climate finance and technical assistance to smallholder farmers and SMEs.
Product overview
Grow Asia operates as a multi-stakeholder partnership platform that offers a portfolio of thematic programs rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings include GrowVentures (agri-food innovation with SEEDS ICT solutions), GrowHer (women's economic empowerment), GrowBeyond (climate resilience and finance, including the ASEAN Sustainable Agriculture Loan Facility), and the Digital Learning Series online platform. Country Chapters in Vietnam (PSAV), Philippines (PPSA), Indonesia (PISAgro), Cambodia (CPSA), and Papua New Guinea (Grow PNG) deliver regional implementation. The Food Innovation Hub coordinates investment and partnerships, while THRIVE provides targeted women's empowerment training. Content and resources are shared via the Grow Asia Exchange.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GrowVentures: Agri-food Innovation program focusing on ICT solutions and innovations for agricultural development
- GrowHer
- GrowBeyond
- Grow Asia Exchange
- THRIVE
- SEEDS
- Food Innovation Hub (FIH)
- Digital Learning Series (DLS)
Products and services
- GrowVentures Agri-food Innovation program that supports ICT solutions and digital agriculture adoption across Southeast Asia, including the SEEDS project accelerating economic development in Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
- GrowHer Women's Economic Empowerment program that designs and implements national and regional programs empowering women in agriculture as decision-makers, farmers, business owners, and agripreneurs.
- GrowBeyond Fund Climate resilience program and largest impact fund designed to leverage up to USD 1bn of climate finance through public-private blended financing to unlock inclusive finance for small agri-businesses in Southeast Asia.
- ASEAN Sustainable Agriculture Loan Facility (ASALF) A component of the GrowBeyond Fund that addresses fragmentation of climate finance by matching farmer requirements with investor expectations through long-tenure loans with flexible repayment periods.
- Digital Learning Series (DLS) An online learning platform that runs fireside chat series and educational content on digital agriculture for Southeast Asian stakeholders. Available at dls.growasia.org.
- Food Innovation Hub (FIH) A platform to translate climate and agricultural transformation ambition into action, coordinating investment, partnerships, and national implementation at scale for Vietnam and the region.
- Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture in Vietnam (PSAV) Grow Asia's Country Chapter in Vietnam, working under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) with eight PPP Task Forces covering Coffee, Tea, Vegetables, Fisheries, Rice, Spices, Livestock, and Agro-Chemicals.
- THRIVE (Train Her to Promote Resilient, Inclusive Value Chains and Economic Empowerment) Joint initiative with Corteva Agriscience to progress economic empowerment of women farmers and agripreneurs in Southeast Asia through farm management, digital and business skills training.
- MSFA Resource Centre A hub for training, climate-smart agriculture, and access to practical knowledge for local farmers in the Markham Valley, Papua New Guinea. Delivered in partnership with MSFA and supported by Markham District and Digicel Foundation PNG.
- Waba 'Ani Agri Partnership Program (WAPP) A collaborative Training-of-Trainers program between Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNGUoT) and Grow PNG Ltd, equipping district officers and community leaders with skills for farming communities in the Markham Valley.
- Grow Asia Exchange An online resource platform providing documents, reports, data, and information as a resource for users on sustainable agriculture and food systems.
- SEEDS A 3-year program under GrowVentures that accelerates economic development in Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines through ICT solutions.
Quantifiable outcome
- 2 million+ smallholder farmers reached through partnership programs
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Grow Asia
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Grow Asia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Grow Asia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core, supporting and flagship.
- SST Think Tank (Singapore Space and Technology)strategicAsia's first space innovation think tank signed a Letter of Intent with Grow Asia to explore a collaboration accelerating space-enabled solutions to help smallholder farmers strengthen productivity, resilience, and traceability across Southeast Asia.
- Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNGUoT)coreAcademic partner in the Waba 'Ani Agri Partnership Program (WAPP), a Training-of-Trainers model bridging academic expertise with community-level implementation for sustainable agriculture in the Markham Valley.
- Markham Smart Farmers Association (MSFA)corePartnership to launch the MSFA Resource Centre in Papua New Guinea, delivering training, climate-smart agriculture, and access to practical knowledge for local farmers in the Markham Valley.
- Digicel Foundation PNGsupportingSupporter of the MSFA Resource Centre launch, contributing to strengthening agribusiness and inclusion in Papua New Guinea.
- Corteva AgrisciencecoreJoint initiative THRIVE (Train Her to Promote Resilient, Inclusive Value Chains and Economic Empowerment) focused on women's economic empowerment in agriculture. Programs piloted in Indonesia and Vietnam with Corteva providing financial, knowledge, and training resources.
- World Economic ForumflagshipCo-founding partner that established Grow Asia in 2015 alongside ASEAN. The World Economic Forum continues to support Grow Asia's initiatives including the GrowBeyond Fund launch and provides global platform access.
- ASEANflagshipCo-founding partner and parent organization. Grow Asia was accredited as an Entity Associated with ASEAN in 2020 due to its important role in facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable agriculture development. Works closely with ASEAN Secretariat.
- Markham DistrictsupportingGovernment partner supporting the MSFA Resource Centre and agricultural development initiatives in the Markham Valley, Papua New Guinea.
- PLDT and SmartsupportingPhilippines' largest integrated telecommunications company participating in Digital Learning Series discussions on digital infrastructure and farmer adoption.
- AgriG8supportingAgri-fintech platform co-founded by David Chen that translates agronomic data into risk signals to improve access to finance for smallholder farmers, featured in Digital Learning Series.
- IDH (Sustainable Trade Initiative)supportingInternational organization where Thuy Cam Nguyen previously worked as senior program officer for sustainable spices program, supporting PSAV's public-private partnership work.
- Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Promoting Rural Incomes through Support for Markets in Agriculture (PRISMA)supportingPartner in THRIVE program pilot in Indonesia, working with Corteva and Grow Asia on women's empowerment training in Java.
- Thai Wah Public Company LimitedsupportingCEO Ho Ren Hua participated in GrowBeyond Fund launch, representing private sector engagement in sustainable food systems.
- Triputra Agro Persada (TAP) GroupsupportingExecutive Chairman Arif Rachmat participated in GrowBeyond Fund launch, also serving as Vice Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).
- EAT (Founding Partner)supportingDr. Gunhild A. Stordalen, Founder and Executive Chair of EAT, participated in GrowBeyond Fund launch, representing global food systems transformation network.
- Food Action AlliancesupportingAdam Gerstenmier, Executive Director, participated in GrowBeyond Fund launch representing coalition for food systems transformation.
- PNG Women in Agriculture Development FoundationsupportingPartner supporting Gender Mainstreaming Training in Papua New Guinea's Markham Valley, helping agricultural landowner associations and farmer cooperatives.
- Women in Agribusiness Asia (WOMAG)supportingPartnered with Grow Asia and OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct on webinar series on responsible agricultural investing and gender-lens investing.
- OECD Centre for Responsible Business ConductsupportingPartner in webinar series on responsible agricultural investing, providing guidance frameworks including OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains.
- First Movers Coalition for FoodstrategicGrow Asia participates in this coalition of 60+ partners focused on demand-led leadership to unlock transformation across global food systems through sustainable procurement.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Grow Asia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative: IDH convenes public-private partnerships to make commodities like coffee, cocoa, tea, and spices more sustainable — directly comparable to Grow Asia's multi-stakeholder country-chapter model for sustainable agriculture.
- Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO): Multi-stakeholder certification platform for sustainable palm oil using partnership-based governance — Grow Asia's Executive Director was previously RSPO's CEO, and the partnership-broker model is structurally identical.
- World Cocoa Foundation: Industry-led multi-stakeholder platform convening cocoa companies, donors, and producers for sustainable supply chains in West Africa and Southeast Asia — directly analogous to Grow Asia's Working Group value-chain approach.
- Sustainable Rice Platform: UNEP- and IRRI-hosted multi-stakeholder platform promoting sustainable rice cultivation standards — comparable platform model focused on a specific Southeast Asian commodity that Grow Asia's Rice Task Force also addresses.
Broad incumbents
- Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA): Large-scale African agricultural transformation partnership platform working with governments, donors, and private sector to improve smallholder productivity — same partnership-broker archetype as Grow Asia but for Africa.
- CGIAR: Global agricultural research partnership with 15 international centers focused on smallholder outcomes — overlaps Grow Asia in connecting research institutions to farmer networks and donor-funded programs.
- GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition): Multi-stakeholder global alliance focused on malnutrition and food system transformation — similar donor-funded, multi-country partnership platform serving smallholder and SME outcomes in emerging markets.
Emerging players
- EAT Foundation: Science-based global platform for transforming food systems; already a Grow Asia founding partner and presents overlapping Food Innovation Hub-style convening role for food system stakeholders.
- Food Action Alliance: Coalition for food systems transformation working through country-level action — already a Grow Asia partner but operates with comparable cross-sector convening in emerging markets.
Others
- World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): CEO-led organization convening 200+ companies on sustainability including food and agriculture — comparable multi-stakeholder convener structure though global rather than ASEAN-focused.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Grow Asia social profiles
Digital presenceGrow Asia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Grow Asia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
Grow Asia subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Grow Asia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Grow Asia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Grow Asia
What does Grow Asia do?
Grow Asia is a non-profit multi-stakeholder partnership platform that brokers commercial and non-profit partnerships among 700+ public, private, civil society, academic, and farmer organizations in Southeast Asia. It delivers programs across four thematic areas (Agri-Food Innovation, Women's Empowerment, Responsible Investing, Climate Resilience) through five Country Chapters, 44 Working Groups, and public-private impact funds that channel climate finance and technical assistance to smallholder farmers and SMEs.
Is Grow Asia a public or private company?
Grow Asia is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Grow Asia founded?
Grow Asia was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Grow Asia based?
Grow Asia is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.
How does Grow Asia make money?
One revenue line is on record: grants and Funding.
Who are Grow Asia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), World Cocoa Foundation and Sustainable Rice Platform. Broad incumbents are Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), CGIAR and GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition). Emerging players are EAT Foundation and Food Action Alliance. World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is listed as an others.
Does Grow Asia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Grow Asia.
What industry is Grow Asia in?
Grow Asia's product category is Sustainable Agriculture Partnership Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADALAG, Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems & Land Management, with a secondary code of BPADAEAE, Economic Growth, Livelihoods & Private Sector Development. Its SIC code is 700.