Social impact is easy to pitch and hard to prove: 17 SEA startups taking the harder route
“Social impact” is one of the most overused phrases in a Southeast Asian pitch deck. Founders apply the label to themselves, and in a funding winter it gets stretched to cover almost anything with a farmer, a recycling bin or an “underserved” customer in the slide. So we went looking for startups that do more […] The post Social impact is easy to pitch and hard to prove: 17 SEA startups taking…
The story of 17 Southeast Asian startups that go beyond simply claiming social impact caught our attention. Through deep research, we identified companies that directly serve the most marginalized populations such as smallholder farmers, fishers, rural women, people with disabilities, and migrant domestic workers. Rather than just attaching the label "social impact" to their business, these startups embed impact into their core operations.
Seventeen companies made the cut across Indonesia, Laos, Philippines and beyond. The common thread is that most operate in agriculture, fisheries, and waste sectors, where impact can be quantified in concrete units rather than just buzzwords. Yet, the sector is under scrutiny. The eFishery scandal in Indonesia has made investors more skeptical of impact claims, and several of these startups have experienced challenges like layoffs or controversies.
Highlighting these seventeen companies provides a nuanced view of what "social impact" truly means in the region. By focusing on the specific sectors and populations they serve, these startups demonstrate that business can be a force for good, measurable in tangible outcomes like improved livelihoods and better environmental stewardship.
Written by urgent.news from e27's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
