Growing an Ecosystem of Impact: Bayan Family of Foundations Goes to Tokyo

Last April 23, 2025, Prof. Carlo Sagun, President and CEO of the Bayan Family of Foundations (BFF), joined key stakeholders for the AVPN Northeast Asia Summit 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

Impact leaders from across Asia exchanged learning and best practices towards mobilizing capital for crucial areas of development, such as carbon reduction, sustainable industry, and social resilience. The Summit also opened up a platform for cross-sector, cross-market partnerships to address critical challenges in the region.

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In the session IMPACT LIVE: Translating Measurement Into Action, Prof. Carlo was part of a panel of experts that examined the role of Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) in solving development challenges. He was joined by Namhee Yun, Director of Impact Square; Yaxing Tan, CEO of Maker Sustainability Consulting; and Hyun Shin, Vice President of Global Social Innovation Foundation and Professor at Hanyang University, in a discussion moderated by Masataka Uo, CEO of the Japan Fundraising Association.

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Bridging theory and practice, Prof. Carlo shared cases of BFF’s work in the Philippines, showing how IMM can drive strategy development and decision-making for more grounded and effective policy, programs, and interventions. He also spoke of the challenge in bridging impact investors’ IMM criteria with realities on-the-ground, highlighting the continuing work to be done to achieve a healthy balance in the ecosystem.

Outside of the Summit, Prof. Carlo participated in roundtables hosted by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF), a long-standing partner of BFF. These discussions, facilitated by SPF’s Social Innovation Team, put into focus the Zebra movement in Japan and its parallels with social enterprise (SE). Zebra companies, which prioritize social and economic impact through sustainable practices and community engagement, keep their ability to grow and scale their business and impact. The dialogue explored how SEs in ASEAN can learn from the Zebra movement and its experience in raising support for Zebra companies nationwide.

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With sustainability and capacity to scale being critical enterprise challenges, another core discussion was the need for alternative, viable financing tailored for SEs. With SPF and its partners, BFF is proud to be co-developing a regional financing platform that will serve SEs in ASEAN. 

This impact tour also opened up significant leads to further BFF’s work: potential SE markets between the Philippines, Japan, and ASEAN through linkages by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Tokyo; new avenues for cross-border fundraising solutions, and partnerships with academe to bring forward SE education in Asia.

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With our newfound fellow advocates in development, BFF is committed to seeing these collaborations through and to growing this community of impact.