Gates Foundation and Climate Bridge to set up offices in Singapore

Both companies see Singapore as a strategic and progressive region to develop their plans for Southeast Asian markets and beyond.

The Gates Foundation has announced plans to set up an office in Singapore. Per a statement released by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) on 5 May 2025, the foundation aims to strengthen its partnerships with governments, philanthropies, and institutions across Southeast Asia, supporting progress towards global health and development goals.

Director, South & Southeast Asia of Gates Foundation Hari Menon said that the foundation is excited to strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia through Singapore.

He believes that the country’s leadership in innovation and philanthropy makes it an ideal hub to scale solutions that improves lives beyond the region.

EDB Managing Director Jermaine Loy also said the EDB is looking forward to the partnership, to scale impactful solutions across Southeast Asia and beyond as it taps on Singapore’s status of being an innovation hub.

In similar news, Climate Bridge International announced on the same day that it is also establishing a presence in Singapore with new capabilities to design and develop carbon credit projects. This is a new, Singapore-headquartered joint venture between Climate Bridge Group and climate finance leaders Alvin Lim and Tan Chin Hwee, which will focus on countries that are aligned with Singapore’s international carbon market strategy. This will also include those that have signed implementation agreements of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Singapore.

The company will be under the support of Singapore EDB’s Carbon Project Development Grant, aiming to help companies working on early-stage, Article 6-aligned credit generation.

Climate Bridge International will partner with asset owners using an agile, asset-light model that facilitates the efficient deployment of capital, technical knowledge, and global market access. This will help to bridge gap for local developers who face barriers around expertise, financing, and market access.

EDB’s Executive Vice President Lim Wey Len warmly welcomed Climate Bridge’s entry into Singapore, noting that it reflects its confidence in Singapore’s position as a carbon services and trading hub enabling regional climate action.

“We look forward to working with like-minded partners like Climate Bridge International to deepen capabilities in originating and developing high-quality 'Article 6' carbon projects that can help Singapore and other countries achieve our climate ambitions,” he said.

In response to that, Climate Bridge International Chairman Tan Chin Hwee expressed his gratitude to EDB for its support as the Carbon Project Development Grant will enable the team to advance the company’s vision and execution model.

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