Social finance
New and innovative approaches to financing development are critical to solving South Asia’s biggest challenges. Social finance is at the forefront of these new ways of working and has the potential to fundamentally improve the way philanthropy and international development are delivered.
The British Asian Trust is a global leader in social finance, pioneering its use in South Asia for seven years, with a strong track record of driving successful collaborations to solve pressing challenges in South Asia. We help leaders shift the focus of development finance from paying for ‘inputs’ to paying for ‘outcomes’.
“I am also immensely proud of the fact that the British Asian Trust continues to be a genuine leader in social finance and development impact bonds – a marvellously imaginative innovation which I have done my best to support and encourage for the past ten years.”
Our focus area
Through our social finance programmes, we have built successful multi-stakeholder collaborations to improve education, skilling, and employment outcomes.
Our award-winning initiatives have:
- Unlocked new streams of capital for development
- Forged partnerships between private sector, civil society, and government.
- Delivered transformative impact through measurable outcomes
- Demonstrated the value add that outcomes-based financing brings
Our proven ability to fundraise and our dedicated focus and networks in South Asia have enabled us to build a strong track record and high market credibility. To illustrate the depth of our work, 3 of India’s 5 outcomes-based impact bonds have been conceptualised and executed by the British Asian Trust.
Through our outcomes-based approach, we have built partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders:
- Government and affiliated bodies such as the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and state governments in India, and the Government of Sindh, Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), and Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) in Pakistan.
- Philanthropic partners such as the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the Maitri Trust, Dubai Cares, Tata Trusts, and others.
- Investors and investment managers such as Bridges Outcomes Partnerships and UBS Optimus Foundation.
- CSR partners such as JSW Foundation, HSBC, Reliance Foundation, Standard Chartered Bank.
- Multilateral partners and development finance institutions such as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), USAID, ADB, World Bank.
- Design, technical, and evaluation partners such as the Central Square Foundation, Dalberg, ConveGenius Insights, Oxford Policy Management.
- Knowledge partners such as the Government Outcomes Lab at the University of Oxford, Brookings Institution, Ecorys.
- Leading nonprofit partners across the education and skilling ecosystems.
What we are doing
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LiftEd (2022-2027)
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Skill Impact Bond (2021-2025)
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Pakistan Employment Impact Bond
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Outcomes Readiness Programme (Ongoing)
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Bharat EdTech Initiative (2022-2025)
“What the British Asian Trust is doing in social finance is truly groundbreaking: it is capable of delivering vital social improvement at scale.”
Past Work
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Quality Education India Development Impact Bond (2018-2022)
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Sindh Education Impact Bond (2022-2023)
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Feasibility studies for ADB and World Bank in Pakistan (2021-2023)
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News & events
Building the Future of Outcomes-Based Financing in India: Launching the Outcomes Readiness Framework
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News & events
Skill Impact Bond Trains Over 29,000 Candidates, Empowering Women in the Workforce
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Blogs
Ramping up private sector engagement in secondary education - insights from the Marmalade Festival 2024
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News & events
LiftEd launch - impacting four million children in India across five years
Private sector and civil society collaborate to transform education...
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Blogs
Quality Education India Development Impact Bond shortlisted for the Concordia Impact Award
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News & events
Skill Impact Bond wins AVPN Constellations Award for creating a more equitable world for women in Asia
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News & events
India’s first impact bond to drive employment outcomes shows promising trends for young women
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If you’re exploring outcomes-based finance or want to understand how you can maximise your impact, come talk to us.
As we continue to grow the social finance ecosystem in South Asia, bringing meaningful partnerships and diverse streams of capital together is our top priority.