Japanese foundation to pour $5 mln into women empowerment fund

Beacon Fund, which has offices in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, focuses on investing in female entrepreneurs in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. It has raised half of its initial target of $50 million to date.

"We deeply respect SPF’s commitment to building the gender lens investing ecosystem in the region," said Beacon Fund Co-Founder and CEO, Shuyin Tang.

"We are very happy to have found a committed partner who similarly wants to make finance work better for women."

Beacon Fund’s main priority is debt products, which it says tend to be a better fit for the moderate-growth, cash-flow positive business the fund targets.

SPF in 2017 formed Asia Women Impact Fund (AWIF), which aims to invest up to $100 million from its endowment to work toward a future where all women in Asia are empowered to reach their full potential.