Full Circle: Circle Capital x Climate starts with SEA

Without the legal side of things, there would be no systems in place for impact investment to happen. This week we’re talking to the multi-talented Sean Tseng, a legal consultant with Client Earth and part of the energy systems of the Asia team, who is also an adjunct professor at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Law, NUS.With his work focusing on the use of corporate and financial laws to enable and promote climate action within the public and private sectors in Asia, Sean has worked with everyone from the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group to the UN Environment Program for Climate. Sean chats with us to break down the buzzwords and the important questions we should be asking when it comes to achieving net zero ambitions, and creating climate action through business.Time to take our final circle of this series on Impact with Full Circle!

What is impact investing, really? This week we’re chatting with Patti Chu, who runs Mana Impact, an advisory firm helping family offices direct their capital toward sustainable ventures. She’s also the Head of Impact Investment for Silverstrand, a Singapore-based family offices which also runs the fabulous Biodiversity Accelerator+ programme, designed to give globally-based startups looking at biodiversity positive impact, a leg-up on the scaling side. Hear Patti tell us about the difference between ESG and Impact, and what she believes is the biggest game-changer of all. Circling over to you!

Ever wondered how a startup founder actually founds a startup that has the potential to impact millions? Us too! This week we’re talking to real-life startup founder Max Nelen, the founder of Agros – a business working to offer climate-smart solutions for small-holder horticultural farmers across Southeast Asia, helping them to decarbonise while doubling profits through a full-stack solution.Max joins us from Singapore, to tell us a bit about how he took a left turn from being the “guy in a suit” down the path less travelled, to finding his way into the agri-business, and what he’s learned about being in the field in Southeast Asia. He also explores with us how tech can be used as an enabler to create change on the ground.Time to take a circle with Full Circle!

And this week we have Cynthia Wijaya, the Chief Corporate Office of Daya Seleras Group – an Indonesia-based family business working as a multi-pronged sustainable industrial hub, closing the loop on waste paper and recycled corrugated packaging, among other things. She’s a passionate sustainability-preneur, and is also behind the ECO-S Co-working and office space, hosting climate and circular economy startups.Cynthia’s here with us, from Jakarta, to chat with us about that turning point for her family to push their business into the circular economy, and how she sees the path for conscious change among her peers in the family business world.Let's take a circle with Full Circle!

Kicking us off is a conversation with Jakarta-based Ratna Kartadjoemena, who among the many hats she wears is a co-founder and chairperson of the Paloma Sjahrir Foundation - aiming to create a better ecosystem for impact startups across Indonesia, a co-founder of the Yayasan Udara Anak Bangsa - a community raising awareness and advocating for clear air, an angel impact investor, and a partner with the Potato Head F+B family.We talk about how Ratna embarked on her journey, why she is where she is today with her passion for climate and impact, and ultimately, what does capital have to do with it all?Let's take a circle with Full Circle!