Enabling a Better World

We have made multiple gifts over the years, including 23 programme endowments for the broader community. To date, Temasek Foundation has touched over 1.5 million lives across Singapore and Asia.

We adapted nimbly to anticipate new needs, working as an advanced scout and forward supplies enabler, to complement the immediate focus of governments and communities. In the early stages of the outbreak, we worked to anticipate and address shortages, actual and potential, to secure essential supplies, including diagnostic and medical equipment.

An example is our sponsorship of our medical and hospital partners to test and validate swab and deep throat saliva test kits, testing protocols, as well as trials and automation to increase lab throughput. The findings were shared with government agencies to support the deployment of these products in the community.

Introducing newer types of test kits increases testing capacity and enables testing to be done quickly, more efficiently and affordably, with fast turnaround to results. This in turn improves our chances of containing the spread of COVID-19. Novel solutions range from wastewater sampling to breath tests and fast nucleic acid tests.

Other initiatives in testing range from sponsoring the humble 3D printed swabs in light of the global shortage of swabs, to enabling the production scale up of nucleic acid PCR-based test kits.

In Singapore, we turned to support the safe reopening of the economy, as the local outbreak cooled down.

Efficient, fast and accurate contact tracing has been essential to these efforts. Temasek sponsored several initiatives. Among these was the contact tracing solution developed by D’Crypt, our portfolio company. Their BluePass device allows businesses to quickly track and identify users who have been in close contact with those infected by the virus, to enable contact tracing of up to three generations of transmission. As of end February 2021, more than 835,000 BluePass devices were distributed, with a significant portion going to residents and staff in migrant worker dormitories, worksites and densely populated venues, as well as to high safety manufacturing facilities.

We supported mass screening efforts with the aim of detecting COVID-19 infections swiftly in the heartlands of Singapore and at its borders. In September 2020, Temasek Foundation supported a multi-agency effort to roll out trials of mass community screening for COVID-19. These trials focused on testing workers who come into contact with many and diverse people daily, and enabling fast one day turnaround to results. These potentially high super spreaders included food centre stallholders, cleaners, retail staff, supermarket cashiers, food delivery personnel and town council workers in popular and high human traffic zones.

Even as we leverage technology, innovation and partnerships to safeguard the Singapore community, we recognise that no one is safe till everyone is safe.

Early efforts include donations of diagnostic test kits, hospital ventilators and supplies to hospitals around the region, where we expected the virus to spread.

In all, donations to the region and beyond, ranged from PCR diagnostic test kits and PCR lab test equipment for testing & diagnosis; to various community and medical grade PPEs for protection, from surgical masks to hazmat suits; to the entire range of oxygen-related treatment equipment, from oxygen concentrators to the top end ECMO “artificial lung” machines.

In turn, we were pleased to have the opportunities to work with regional partners to sponsor trials of test kits and other COVID-19 response initiatives.

More recently, the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus was reported in dozens of countries. This was responsible for the huge COVID-19 tsunami in India where daily cases reached a peak of more than 400,000. Hospitals were overwhelmed. There were urgent and massive life and death calls for oxygen solutions. Temasek donated oxygen concentrators, BiPAP positive airway pressure machines, oximeters, and ventilators, and worked with other co-sponsors to add more.

We also connected the dots across the region and the world to funnel supplies into India. This included facilitating the supply, logistics and delivery of large cryogenic tanks used for transporting liquid oxygen, airlifted by the Indian Air Force transporter back to India. At the non-government end, we connected partners, in and out of India, with trusted medical equipment suppliers in China. One such initiative, in particular, helped to secure priority production of oxygen concentrators for their distribution to places of need in India, especially in the underserved rural regions.

Temasek Foundation and Singapore Airlines co-sponsored flights to enable the World Food Programme to deliver essential supplies to various parts of Asia and the Pacific. The World Food Programme acted as the logistic arm of the United Nations and the World Health Organization to support logistics to places of need in the fight against COVID-19.

Last year, the pandemic in Brazil saw one of the highest numbers of reported cases in the world. Through our portfolio companies and partnerships with local non-governmental organisations in Brazil, we were able to quickly identify initiatives and target communities who needed the most help during their first major outbreak last year. Temasek staff sourced and secured delivery of surgical masks, ventilators, and oxygen concentrators to more than 40 hospitals in the country.

To date, Temasek Foundation has provided some 40 countries outside Singapore, COVID-related supplies. These included diagnostic test kits which enabled over 1 million PCR diagnostic tests, and more than 20 PCR testing machines to expand lab test capacity and capability; over 30,000 units of oxygen support and ICU-grade ventilation equipment, including the high end ECMO “artificial lung” machines, to provide life-saving oxygen to COVID-19 patients; and over 27 million surgical, N95 and KN95 masks for hospital and frontline workers, some 23 million reusable masks for the community, as well as some hazmat suits to provide protection against infection.

Financial Oversight and Governance

Established by Temasek Holdings in 2007, Temasek Trust is a steward of philanthropic assets, gifts and endowments. It strives to provide sustainable funding for the long term well-being and security of our communities. It is set up to receive funding from Temasek and other donors.

Temasek Trust provides governance and financial oversight to 23 programme endowments and gifts from Temasek. These have mandates which support our non-profit ecosystem that includes Temasek Foundation, Stewardship Asia Centre and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory.

In terms of gifts and endowments from Temasek, we are prepared for these to be run down over time, or directed towards significant projects as large one time gifts from Temasek Trust. The latter is effected with a proviso for Temasek Trust to seek the approval of Temasek as an endowment sponsor, to distribute more than 10% of our endowment gifts.

In May 2021, Temasek Trust entered into a strategic collaboration with SDG Impact, a United Nations Development Programme initiative focused on guiding investors and businesses in Asia to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by providing them with insights and tools to do so. This is a continuation of Temasek Trust’s journey in impact investing, which started in 2019 with the launch of ABC World Asia, a private equity fund dedicated to impact investing in Asia.

Temasek Foundation

Temasek Foundation sponsors diverse programmes to strengthen social resilience, foster international exchange and regional capabilities, advance science, and protect the planet.

Strengthening Social Resilience and Uplifting Lives

Both in and out of Singapore, Temasek Foundation works to catalyse a more resilient, harmonious and inclusive society.

Its outcome-focused programmes help to enhance our social fabric by enabling individuals, strengthening families and uplifting communities, with a special focus on at-risk families and their children.

The Foundation pilots programmes and research, and funds programmes that promote culture, heritage and values to benefit current and future generations.

Fostering International Exchange and Enhancing Regional Capabilities

Temasek Foundation connects people to promote dialogues, mutual understanding and a more inclusive worldview.

Such programmes also advance capability and capacity, in areas such as healthcare, education, public administration, urban management, and disaster response. They bring together participants particularly from the region, and the wider Asian community, to share ground experiences and best practices.

Advancing Science and Protecting the Planet for a Sustainable World

Temasek Foundation champions sustainability and supports research and education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

It seeds solution-oriented development projects that contribute to improving liveability through various global grant calls. Some prior year winners of the Liveability Challenge have progressed to become start-ups funded by various rounds of venture funding.

Other programmes strengthen research capabilities and promote cross-functional collaboration in areas such as healthcare, education, climate change, wildlife conservation and the circular economy.

Mandai Nature Fund

In December last year, Temasek and Mandai Park Holdings established Mandai Nature Fund, a non-profit Institution of a Public Character. This aims to advance efforts in nature conservation and climate change mitigation in Asia.

Specific nature-based sustainability agenda includes efforts to mitigate climate change, prevent species extinction, and protect habitats.

Mandai Nature Fund aims for people and wildlife to thrive with healthy ecosystems and vibrant communities, both in urban Singapore and in fast growing Asia.

Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL)

TLL was established in 2002 as a research institute to harness the power of life sciences to improve lives. With close to 200 researchers, TLL undertakes biomolecular science research and applications to benefit people in Asia and beyond.