Asia's Largest Social Investor AVPN Partners with ADB & Google

The largest network of social investors in Asia, AVPN has partnered with Google.org and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support the funding of the AI Opportunity Fund, Asia Pacific program. This program is supported by USD 15 million in funds, which addresses the unique challenges faced by workers in the field due to technical gaps related to AI.  The selected 49 organizations will receive financial aid and expert guidance with the initiative under the “ecosystem multiplier lever”.

The program duration is said to be 3 years, which trains various groups of workers for expertise in the workforce, across Asia Pacific. A previous study for the program revealed that only 15 percent of the workers have been engaged with AI skilling programs. Among 1 in 5 younger workers engage with AI, while 1.6 times they indicate trust issues with AI. 96 percent of Asia-Pacific’s companies are Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs), which struggle with AI skill development.

To erase this gap the AVPN will be partnering with Seoul National University, KORIKA, AI Singapore, AI Education from Vietnam, and Wadhwani AI. The selected organization will directly contact various groups of workers to train them in technical skills. The CEO of AVPN, Naina Subberwal Batra highlighted, “There is a pressing need to bridge critical skills gaps in communities with unmet needs across Asia Pacific. Our funded organizations are at the heart of this important component of the AI Work Transition, and they bring expertise and a profound commitment to addressing the unique challenges faced by these communities, ensuring that all segments of society can participate in and benefit from technological advancements, fostering a more equitable future for all.”

Google.org is providing an additional USD 10 million to AVPN to increase AI Skilling initiatives for this year. From the funding received from Google.org and AVPN’s quality of training, 7,20,000 workers and 1,00,000 MSMEs across the Southeast Asia region will get assistance in AI training.