Let’s talk about Gobi Partners! This VC firm has over 20 years of experience funding startups in Asia. They just released their Sustainability Report last week, and we’re here to break down some key insights. 

• They’ve funded Carsome, ORA, PolicyStreet, and more!
• Between the lines. They don’t invest in weapons trade and manufacture, gambling enterprises, cross-border trade in waste and waste products, and more. 

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🌏 What’s ESG?

Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies help businesses create impact and long-lasting value through their work. 

• Gobi Partners’ ESG approach focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), TaqwaTech, and circular economy (CE). 

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👠 Women in STEM

Gobi offers mentorship and workshops for women founders. They also collaborated with UN Women to hold the Asia Gender-Smart Workshop 2023. 

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☪️ For the Muslim market

They’re also committed to investing in the underserved Muslim market. Their TaqwaTech initiative is powered by their Pakistan-based joint venture, Fatima Gobi Ventures. 

• Last year, they spent over $246M to fund over 20 Muslim-friendly startups in different sectors.

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🍃 Investing in the planet

So far, Gobi has invested in 62 companies that have at least one CE principle. 

• This means that these companies use circular models, reduce waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, or reuse natural models. 

Meet Scale360. This Philippine-based program backed by the World Economic Forum provides insights so startups under Gobi can adopt CE practices at scale.