Our Philosophy

Sustainable
Transformation

We believe that innovation and startups are a key component in the transition towards a more inclusive, sustainable economy and world - but it requires participation from a broader ecosystem along with a rigorous and principled framework.

Sustainability
Our Perspective

01.

Startups have an opportunity to create a new standard for businesses everywhere — grounded in promoting sustainability and the wellbeing of people and society.

02.

In analyzing our portfolio companies (along with our peers), we see that many of the most successful emerging startups today are also the most socially impactful.

03.

In order to succeed, the transition will require multiple sectors and include customers, value chain actors and incumbent corporate leaders.

04.

Investors, startups and corporates need to establish a framework of relationships, criteria and metrics to encourage and measure impact that makes everyone accountable.

Action
Our ESG Policy

We firmly believe that accounting for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) stakes is fundamental to our role as an investor. That’s why we’ve formalized a responsible investment approach by designing and implementing an ESG Management system.

More on our ESG policy
Our Commitment

We work with companies who share our vision and can provide quarterly metrics to back it up including measurement of ongoing business practices contribution to core impact and stakeholder impact.

When we partner with startups, alongside traditional financial documents, we also sign a Mission Engagement Letter: a commitment to our shared values, and our respective contributions to the UN Sustainability Goals.

See a Sample Letter
Reports

Our annual sustainability reports provide a detailed look into our approach, framework and the impact of our portfolio companies.

Image for 2022 - 2023

2022 – 2023

Investing in Startups Impacting the World

Cathay Innovation Fund II

Image for 2021 - 2022

2021 – 2022

Investing in Startups Impacting the World

Cathay Innovation Fund II

Image for 2020 - 2021

2020 – 2021

Investing in Startups Impacting the World

Cathay Innovation Fund II

Insights
Spotlight on Sustainability
 
Positive Impact Throughout the Startup Journey
01.10.2022Blog

Positive Impact Throughout the Startup Journey

A Sustainable Investment Framework to Help Founders Build Responsible, Resilient Businesses

Read More…

Medium
Case Studies
Social Impact in Practice
ACCESS TO INFORMATION & EDUCATION
Internet Access for the Next Billion
  • What: Lite operating system that brings smartphone functionalities to feature phone hardware, connecting people to the internet at very low costs with affordable 3G/4G devices
  • Impact: 
    • Reduces the digital divide, particularly in emerging markets
    • Full-stack application enabling access to basic services such as digital skills education, agriculture, women empowerment, health and financial education
  • Stats:
    • 3.7B people have no internet access
    • KaiOS has shipped 130M+ devices across 100+ countries and expanding aggressively in Africa and Latin America
    • 115M+ activated users in India
FINANCIAL SUPPORT & INCLUSION
US health insurance the way it should be
  • What: Innovative Inurtech that empowers consumer choice and makes health care more affordable and accessible to everyone in the US.
  • Impact: 
    • Fixes the incentives and lack of price transparency issues in the U.S. healthcare system resulting in lower costs and greater access.
    • Empowers patients to be the purchasers and shop around based on real-price data while paying doctors at the time of care using the Sidecar Health Visa card.
  • Stats:
    • Members save 40% compared to traditional insurance
    • Sidecar health plans cover 170,000+ medical services and prescription drugs
ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT
Tackling the global shortage of qualified healthcare professionals
  • What: Platform connecting workers and healthcare institutions to simplify the application process and more effectively find jobs tailored to their needs
  • Impact: 
    • Addresses the global shortage of qualified healthcare workers by effectively increasing the overall supply
    • Healthcare workers can tailor schedules to their personal needs
    • Enables the reintegration of professionals into the medical ecosystem 
  • Stats:
    • 20M healthcare worker shortage by 2030
    • 200,000+ trained healthcare professionals on MEDWING
    • 2,500+ hospitals, nursing homes and medical practices
MEDICAL
Microbiome precision medicine targeting diabetes
  • What: Provides diabetic patients with an AI-driven personalized diet aiming to reduce blood sugar based on microbiome 
  • Impact: 
    • Enables diabetic patient to live healthier lives with “food-as-medicine”
    • Non-invasive therapies reduce medical complications due to non-treated diabetes 
  • Stats:
    • 422M people have diabetes worldwide
    • Q1 2019 DayTwo saw 10,000+ individual customers, 100+ providers in clinician network 
    • Strategic partnership with Clalit reaches 4.5 million members