T-Ignite: Igniting ideas, amplifying impact
T-Ignite: Igniting ideas, amplifying impact
From earthquake-shattered areas of Lombok to typhoon-ravaged parts of Cebu, a small device inspired by a bicycle pump has been a lifeline.
ROAMfilter Plus, a portable water filter and brainchild of former National University of Singapore schoolmates Lim Chong Tee, David Pong and Vincent Loka, has put clean drinking water within reach for hundreds of thousands in disaster-stricken and remote communities. With the support of humanitarian organisations like Red Cross and World Vision, it has reached over 40 countries in the last decade.
Light and intuitive to use, the simple hand pump fitted with an ultrafiltration membrane can turn 15 litres of contaminated water into safe, drinkable water in under five minutes.
But despite its promise in helping to make silt-ridden river or well water safe to drink, their startup, Wateroam, hit an unexpected drought itself – funding to scale its operations.
As it entered its 10th year, the company found itself too large for seed funding, yet too small for commercial capital. This funding gap, sometimes called the “valley of death”, is a familiar challenge for impact enterprises navigating the funding gap between early-stage grants and commercial capital, explains Jasmine Teo, Director of Temasek’s Community Stewardship team, which manages the firm’s community gifts.
“At this stage of their growth, these startups need flexible and patient capital because it takes time for their impact to be delivered,” says Jasmine. Few investors possess the patience, risk tolerance, and alignment with impact goals that they require, she adds.
T-Ignite is Temasek’s response to this mismatch between investor expectations and the realities faced by impact enterprises, with Wateroam its first beneficiary. Funded out of Temasek’s community gifts, T-Ignite will provide Wateroam with a recoverable grant of up to S$500,000, repayable over five years, allowing it to scale its impact.
For Wateroam, the funding comes at a critical juncture, providing both the capital and the breathing room to pursue growth, says Chong Tee, Wateroam’s Chief Marketing Officer. “It is one of the largest amounts we have received to date, and will allow us to expand production, penetrate more markets, and hire the talent we need to grow our impact.”
More than just capital
The idea for T-Ignite evolved through extensive conversations with Temasek’s non-profit ecosystem, its portfolio companies, the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE), and impact enterprises themselves.
Jasmine Teo
Director, Temasek Community Stewardship
“What we wanted to do was enable impact enterprises to prioritise the delivery of social and environmental impact – their core mission – and help them evolve into financially sustainable businesses,” she explains.
That is why T-Ignite is designed to provide holistic support. Beyond capital, recipients benefit from Temasek’s expertise in assessing commercial viability, business mentorship, and access to Temasek’s network of experts. Philanthropic organisation The Majurity Trust (TMT) was appointed as grant administration partner for its expertise in managing recoverable grants, as well as its understanding of the challenges faced by impact-focused enterprises on the ground. TMT will also provide guidance and mentorship to beneficiaries.
“We believe in leveraging collective expertise and resources to drive sustainable, scalable impact – we recognise we can’t achieve this alone,” says Jasmine.
These organisations are trying to solve massive social and environmental problems, which require time, patience, and the help it takes to succeed. That’s what makes T-Ignite different.
Charles Tan
Senior Director of Philanthropy
The Majurity Trust
Together, the team scoped out a robust structure. This included determining the appropriate level of funding, timing for repayments that made sense for such ventures, and the right support for capacity building, says Charles Tan, TMT’s Senior Director of Philanthropy.
The fund offers impact enterprises the opportunity and time to improve their business models, helping them push towards greater financial discipline and sustainability. The recovered capital will then be recycled to support other impact enterprises seeking to benefit communities, amplifying the effectiveness of the same philanthropic dollar.
Beneficiaries also learn to properly articulate, measure and report their impact. While meeting their impact goals qualifies them for repayment discounts, having these systems in place also serves as the “muscle” they will need to secure commercial capital in the future.
“We work hand in hand with these enterprises in their journey to deliver sustainable impact,” says Jasmine.
Ripples of change
For Wateroam, this new funding marks a significant step forward, ensuring that their momentum does not run dry just as they begin to make waves. Chong Tee and his team hope to put clean drinking water into the hands of 30 million people by 2030.
For Temasek, T-Ignite represents an innovative approach to deploying its philanthropic capital, enabling long-term impact to be delivered in a more sustainable way.
"Ultimately, this aligns closely with our identity as an investor," says Jasmine. "It empowers impact enterprises to pursue their double bottom line of impact and financial returns, while building a pipeline of organisations that contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable world, for this and future generations."
About Temasek’s Community Contributions
Temasek’s journey in building social capital started over 20 years ago, when it adopted a deliberate and structured approach, anchored on the twin pillars of governance and sustainability, to give back to communities.
Since 2003, Temasek has been setting aside a portion of its net positive returns above its risk-adjusted cost of capital for community gifts.
These are approved by the Temasek Board and then donated to partners to achieve Temasek’s community objectives of Connecting People, Uplifting Communities, Protecting the Planet, and Advancing Capabilities.
Temasek Trust (TT) has been the primary beneficiary of Temasek’s gifts. TT disburses grants for programmes to be developed and delivered by Temasek’s non-profit ecosystem, including Temasek Foundation, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Stewardship Asia Centre, and Mandai Nature. To date, Temasek’s gifts to TT have impacted about 3.7 million lives across Singapore and beyond.
In addition to Temasek Trust and our non-profit ecosystem, Temasek also works directly with partners from the Public, Private, and People sectors to advance our community objectives, where our philanthropic capital, network, and industry insights can make the most impact.
