Green Fintech

13 Fintech Giants Back Programme Sirius to Promote MSME Sustainability in APAC

Programme Sirius has been launched to support Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Asia-Pacific region on their path towards sustainability.

With the backing of 13 fintech industry leaders from 11 economies, the programme aims to bolster MSMEs’ efforts in aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by enhancing their sustainability practices through digital platforms.

These partners include: AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), ANEXT Bank (Singapore), BigPay (Malaysia), bKash (Bangladesh), DANA (Indonesia), GCash (the Philippines), Hipay (Mongolia), Kakao Pay (Republic of Korea), MPay (Macao SAR, China), TNG Digital (Malaysia), TossPay (Republic of Korea), TrueMoney (Thailand), and Zalopay (Vietnam).

The initiative is designed to be a knowledge-sharing platform, encouraging dialogue among industry stakeholders on sustainable practices and innovations.

By facilitating exchanges of ideas and best practices, Programme Sirius intends to help MSMEs adopt environmentally friendly operations, gain access to sustainability financing, and explore new growth avenues in a low-carbon economy.

In collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Ant International, Programme Sirius will introduce Digital Sustainability Impact Management Toolkits.

These tools are aimed at enhancing MSMEs’ ability to implement eco-friendly practices and access sustainable finance through digital means.

Furthermore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore‘s Gprnt initiative, in partnership with Ant International, will offer technology-enabled solutions for MSMEs to begin reporting on basic Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics.

This effort is expected to improve MSMEs’ access to sustainable business and finance opportunities by leveraging data and technology.

The launch event saw commitments from 13 industry partners, representing a collective effort to address the sustainability challenges faced by MSMEs.

These businesses, which constitute a significant portion of global employment and economic activity, often struggle with the complexities of sustainability reporting due to limited resources and the high costs associated with adopting technological solutions.

With the increasing pressure from multinational companies to reduce their carbon footprint and the corresponding expectations placed on suppliers, MSMEs stand to gain a competitive advantage by embracing sustainable practices.

Programme Sirius will invite a group of industry participants, especially leading e-wallets players and financial institutions in Asia to collectively promote the MSME sustainability efforts.

Sopnendu Mohanty

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore said,

“The MAS is pleased to support Programme Sirius by leveraging its work on Project Savannah, which articulates a common starting point for MSMEs to report basic ESG information; and through the involvement of the newly established Gprnt platform, which harnesses technology and automation to simplify how MSMEs report such information.

We look forward to Programme Sirius bringing together global financial institutions and payment providers, to collectively power more inclusive and sustainable growth for MSMEs around the world.”

Leiming Chen

Leiming Chen, Chief Sustainability Officer, Ant International said,

“Given the complexities of the task, ranging from taxonomy and governance framework to cost and education, it requires collective effort across public and private sectors, industries, and markets to drive this change.

With our experience in innovation-led sustainability and MSME programs, Ant International is proud to join partners like the Gprnt and IFC, and other industry partners of the Programme Sirius like GCash to unlock opportunities for MSMEs as they transform to become more sustainable.”

Featured image: APAC partners at the launch of Programme Sirius