These are not disparate issues: climate resilience, food security, health, stability, and peace are deeply interconnected.
Teach a Man
to eFish
In Cirebon, West Java, what started as a simple idea has created ripples with far-reaching impact.
Four times a day, Cirebon farmer Muhammad Rusli taps on an app on his mobile phone, automatically scattering feed over his lele (catfish) and nila (Nile tilapia) ponds.
Since he began using the eFishery platform, Rusli has grown his fish farm from 4 to 16 ponds, and now sells 60 tons of catfish a year.
“What eFishery does is automate the process, so fish are fed regularly, rain or shine, and the feed is spread evenly. In other farms, they simply throw in the feed, so some fish get more than others, and the stock grows unevenly,” says Gibran Huzaifah, who created eFishery in 2012. A catfish farmer looking to grow his own business, he realised that manual feeding hurt productivity. The lack of bargaining power of smallholders worsened the bleed.
Besides regulating feeding, farmers on the platform can group buy quality feed – which constitutes up to 90% of costs – at better rates. Its marketplace also connects farmers directly to customers, so they can cut out the middleman and keep more of their profit.
Rusli is among 65,000 Indonesian farmers who have turned to the platform to lift their profitability, making fish farming more sustainable.
With Temasek’s capital and networks, eFishery is now looking to scale up, and has its eye on the over 18 million fish farmers across Asia facing similar challenges.
eFishery helps push towards food security, empower new generations of farmers, and lift whole communities, says Gibran.
“Ultimately, it's about creating technologies that solve the right problems and are affordable. You start with one farmer and one pond, and when he realises the benefits, it grows. When farmers prosper, communities prosper. Their children go to college, and the next generation benefits even more. When they succeed, we succeed.”
Gibran Huzaifah
Co-founder & CEO,
eFishery
Surfacing
the Emotions Beneath
In Singapore, technology is also helping to address unseen mental health challenges faced by seniors.
As Ms Lim Li Cheng speaks to her counsellor, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based assistant searches her face for insights.
The gregarious 70-year-old suffers from schizophrenia, and the camera-based programme captures and analyses subtle changes in her expression, measuring positive and negative emotions, and their intensity. Combined with her physical evaluation, the Facial Analysis Correlation of Emotions (F.A.C.E.) programme lets her counsellor know if her medications are working well.
Li Cheng is part of an ongoing pilot by Lions Befrienders (LB) and Temasek Foundation to use AI to more accurately detect mental well-being among the elderly. So far, F.A.C.E. has been used to screen 500 vulnerable seniors who live alone, and has surfaced depression, anxiety or elevated stress levels in about 15%, says LB's Head of Innovation Keith Tan. “By detecting mental health issues early, we know where to focus our intervention efforts, and can provide support or medical help if needed.”
LB plans to screen another 4,000 of the 7,600 elderly who attend their centres by the end of 2023. The hope is to then extend the use of F.A.C.E. to more seniors, as well as other age groups and those with special needs.
For now, the sessions help assure Li Cheng that she's well on track: “They give me strength. Sometimes when I have problems, they help me solve them. And then I can be relaxed and happy,” she says.
“Our pioneers helped to build Singapore, and we must ensure that they are not left behind. Events in recent years have caused considerable mental stress to many of us, including our seniors. Harnessing the potential of technology such as AI, we can strengthen the social resilience of the vulnerable in our community.”
Lim Hock Chuan
Head, Programmes,
Temasek Foundation
What Makes a Better World
When capital meets purpose and creativity, it becomes a catalyst for solutions that address the most pressing needs, filling critical gaps.
The combination of the right knowledge, resources and people scales these ideas, and maximises their impact.
Renewables are key to breaking our reliance on fossil fuels. And with energy storage technologies like batteries, solar energy can be made available around the clock.
By providing both capital and access to its ecosystem of partners, Temasek enabled AlphaESS, a global energy storage solution and service provider, to grow its product range, reach, and impact. To date, AlphaESS has installed more than 75,000 residential and commercial storage systems in over 75 countries.
“Next-generation technologies can move the needle in the switch to renewables, but it requires patience and people who are willing to invest for the long term. We catalyse resilient companies like AlphaESS who solve problems for the next generation.”
Joseph Duan
Vice-President, Investment (Shanghai), Temasek
Access to basic eye care could make a difference to 1 billion people globally who lose their sight to preventable causes.
At Chennai-based Dr. Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals, four generations of ophthalmologists have made affordable eye care available to 1 million patients annually, through 112 centres in India and Africa. With Temasek’s investment, it aims to grow its reach to over 200 hospitals by 2024, invest in R&D, and train the next generation of eye care professionals.
“Blindness and visual impairment are growing problems, but these can be addressed if quality health services are made affordable and put within reach. We enable this, and help generations see brighter.”
Meghna Jeendgar
Associate, Investment (Mumbai), Temasek
Early childhood is a critical period of development. By teaching preschoolers to be open and adaptable, we give them the skills to shape a rapidly changing world.
Since Temasek’s investment in Busy Bees in 2017, it has extended its footprint from 4 to 10 geographies, with over 850 child and infant care centres in the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Expanded access to quality childcare also means more parents can rejoin the workforce, or pursue broader personal aspirations.
“What we are able to offer has great impact on thousands of children, who can start to develop the foundations that will allow them to pursue their dreams, become active members of society, and live their best lives.”
Clemente Castellucci
Vice President, Investment (EMEA-Europe)
