eliminating energy barriers in asia pacific

A three-year initiative supported by Chevron is helping underrepresented Asia Pacific social enterprises scale their businesses.

We’re working with Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, a U.S.-based non-profit that accelerates social entrepreneurship to eliminate global poverty with a focus on climate resilience and women’s economic empowerment. Our $900,000 gift will be used to support high potential enterprises with the tools they need to grow their impact.

The contribution will also fund research and training methods for overcoming biases that women and minorities face in raising capital.

The Miller Center-Chevron climate resilience initiative strives to help reduce poverty, drive economic and social opportunity, and develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region.

Social enterprises are selected based on their work helping communities become more climate resilient through efforts such as:

• Providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy
• Ensuring availability of clean water and sustainable management of water and sanitation
• Implementing sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices to increase productivity and production

Selected social entrepreneurs will receive customized services ranging from capacity and leadership development to investment readiness and facilitation. They will be paired with mentors, including Silicon Valley business leaders.

They will also participate in webinars and in-person seminars to learn how to increase their social and economic impact.

About 150 million people in Asia and the Pacific region lack access to clean, reliable energy.

The Miller Center initiative aims to further climate-smart agriculture, safe water, and reliable low-carbon energy to vulnerable communities in Asia Pacific.

Chevron understands that achieving change at scale requires partnership and collaboration throughout the energy system. Chevron funds accelerator programs such as the Miller Center to help reduce poverty, drive economic and social opportunity, and develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“Through the programs Chevron has funded with the Miller Center, we have seen that investing in high-quality, proven accelerators is an effective way to increase the impact of our giving,” said Kurt Glaubitz, Chevron’s general manager of corporate affairs in Asia Pacific.

Beneficiaries of previous Chevron-sponsored Miller Center initiatives include Daniel Wright, executive director and founder of Gravity Water, an organization that turns rainwater into safe drinking water for schools in Vietnam and Indonesia.

Said Wright: “Through participation in this program, Gravity Water is now prepared to scale our work to over 1,000 schools in the Asia Pacific region over the next four years.”

Photo courtesy of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship and the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc.