Asia Impact First Fund invests S$2 million in social enterprise Bettr Group 

ASIA Impact First Fund (AIFF) has invested S$2 million in coffee and beverage social enterprise Bettr Group. The funding, announced on Friday (Oct 13), will be used to support Bettr’s business expansion plans, such as growing its roastery, and funding its programmes that help marginalised communities.

The fund is backed by impact investment platform Heritas Capital and DBS Foundation. As an impact fund, AIFF will look for more than just financial returns, with investments to address the social and environmental challenges in Asia.

A key metric of how the fund will measure the impact of its investment in Bettr is to see the number of lives that have benefitted, Karen Ngui, head of strategic marketing and communications at DBS Group and board member of DBS Foundation, told The Business Times (BT).

For other social enterprises, AIFF will look at metrics such as reductions in carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions, or food waste, depending on the nature of the businesses.

Founded in 2011, Bettr offers professional beverage education and owns a roastery that also sells coffee supplies. It also currently operates retail coffee bars in two businesses.

The company is the first in South-east Asia to receive the B-Corporation certification, given by non-profit B Lab to for-profit companies that meet its standards of verified social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.

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Bettr will expand the capacity of its training programmes to equip more people from marginalised communities, such as single mothers, youths at risk and ex-offenders, with barista training and life management skills.

Currently, 26 per cent of Bettr’s 50 employees are from marginalised backgrounds and comprise mostly graduates from its social programmes. These programmes are currently funded by a mix of the company’s profits and capital from partners such as the Community Foundation of Singapore.

To date, 242 students have benefitted from its social programmes, and 248 students have picked up coffee and emotional literacy skills via its early intervention programmes.

The fresh funds will also enable the opening of retail coffee bars in more businesses, as well as fuel a venture into the business-to-consumer space to enhance its brand visibility in Singapore. With this expansion, Bettr will be able to hire more people from marginalised communities.

Bettr is looking to open a standalone cafe and bar in Singapore around the end of Q2 to early Q3 in 2024, it told BT.

“We intend to solidify our footprint in Singapore, support more beneficiaries through education and inclusive employment, and eventually scale into the (South-east Asia) region,” said Pamela Chng, founder and chief executive officer of Bettr Group.

AIFF aims to provide growth capital to 10 to 15 social enterprises across Asia that have been proven to be financially sustainable and profitable.

“We are looking to focus our attention and effort to support these companies, many of which are still at the early growth stage. Our aim is to bridge them to the next bracket so they can access more capital in the future,” Chik Wai Chiew, CEO and executive director of Heritas Capital, told BT.

He noted that in the current difficult funding environment, it is even harder for social enterprises to raise money from commercial investors. “That’s why we think it is very timely that in times like this, we launch an impact first fund to support social enterprises.”