Xueling Lee

Executive Summary Corporate philanthropy is a multibillion-dollar global enterprise that reflects a growing sense that the business of business includes making the world a better place while thriving financially. How companies go about doing good differs by culture and tradition. In many parts of the world, corporate giving is largely voluntary.

At this year’s Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025, a powerful idea resonated across a panel I participated in, titled ‘Catalysts for Change: Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration.’ In times of great uncertainty, the smartest move is not to turn inward, but rather to collaborate. And collaborating effectively means working through some core tensions, which I’ll come to in a moment. Many in the impact sector are under immense pressure. Major donors are pulling back, leaving billions of dollars in shortfall.

While Asia is home to nearly half of the world’s households living in poverty, it also has the fastest-growing concentration of wealthy families – and great potential to deploy philanthropic capital to create social and environmental impact. More billionaires live in Asia – 951, according to Nikkei Asia – than in the United States and Europe.