Yi Zhou, Chief Financial Officer of Ant International (left) and Tony Soh, Chief Executive Officer of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (right) at the City of Good Summit 2025
Part of Programme Sirius, the initiative will train 60 non-profit organisations on digital capabilities for fundraising and business skills
Singapore – Ant International has launched an initiative under its MSME-empowerment Programme Sirius, to support local non-profit organisations with their digital transformation. Ant International will leverage its digital expertise and solutions to equip non-profits with fundamental business and digital skills for long-term sustainability in the digital economy.
This includes marketing, e-commerce, online payments and audience engagement strategies that they can apply in their daily operations and fundraising activities. It will also enable access to networking opportunities in the tech industry for participating non-profits.
Launched in March 2024, Programme Sirius aims to empower micro small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) in their journey towards digitalisation and sustainability. Supported by partners including the International Finance Corporation, Gprnt (an initiative by the Monetary Authority of Singapore) and 15 Asia-Pacific fintech leaders, Programme Sirius focuses on helping MSMEs align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and uplifting MSMEs with new growth opportunities by leveraging digital innovations.
The new initiative builds on Programme Sirius’s work with MSMEs by expanding its scope to include non-profits in collaboration with the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), to drive digital inclusion and sustainability more holistically.
Announced at the NVPC’s City of Good Summit 2025 yesterday, NVPC is the first strategic partner to join hands with Ant International in driving digitalisation for under Programme Sirius. As part of the launch, both parties will hold a training programme for up to 60 non-profits, leveraging NVPC’s giving.sg, Singapore’s leading and trusted digital giving platform.
This partnership also builds on NVPC’s extensive network and knowledge in the giving sector, and a pilot training programme conducted by both parties last year under the Unlocking Growth: Actionable Strategies for Digital Fundraising initiative.
According to the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society’s Doing Good Index 2024, although non-profits in Asia understand the need for digital transformation, 59% of social delivery organisations surveyed said the lack of skills is a big challenge when it comes to adopting digital technology, and almost one in three said support for digitisation and digital literacy is one of their organisation’s top three needs.
Designed to address these needs, the new initiative comprises three pillars to help non-profits in Singapore and the region grow their social impact:
a. Domain Expertise: Aims to use innovations in the fintech industry to inspire and empower non-profit organisations’ digital transformations, through sharing relevant research and insights.
b. Capacity Building: Helps non-profits build up a wide range of digital skills including digital fundraising and more, to support their long-term growth and development.
c. Community Building: Brings non-profits together with the tech industry through informal networking forums to foster collaboration and create supportive ecosystem for non-profits
Gemma Bryne, Deputy Director, Segment and Market Development, Partnerships Group at NVPC, said, “At NVPC, we believe that collaboration is key to unlocking meaningful impact. Following the success of our inaugural workshop with Ant International last year, which strengthened the digital fundraising capabilities of 13 charities, we are proud to scale this partnership to reach 60 charity partners, in celebration of SG60 this year. NVPC is honoured to be the first strategic partner for this initiative, reflecting the trust in NVPC, and our network and knowledge in the giving space. With collaborations such as this, we hope to continue empowering our charity partners and strengthening Singapore’s giving ecosystem to support a more caring, inclusive and compassionate society.”
Carrie Suen, Vice President and Head of Global Affairs & Strategic Development at Ant International, said “Non-profit organisations are the heart of local communities, and are often underserved like MSMEs. We are thrilled to enhance our support for these vital groups through Programme Sirius. We are particularly pleased to partner with NVPC once again for the launch in Singapore, building on the success of our collaboration last year. Together with our partners, we will continue to leverage digital innovations to transform incumbent sectors and uplift the philanthropic sector with more growth opportunities under this new initiative and bring small and beautiful changes to the world.”
About Ant International
Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider offering a unified techfin platform to unlock next-gen commerce for all. In close collaboration with partners, we support merchants of all sizes worldwide to realize their growth aspirations through a comprehensive range of tech-driven digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit https://www.antglobal.com/.
About the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)
NVPC is the national agency dedicated to driving a culture of volunteerism and philanthropy in Singapore. By engaging individuals, organisations, communities and leaders across the people, private and public sectors, we seek to create a more caring, inclusive, and compassionate society. Together, we envision Singapore as a City of Good, where everyone is able to give every day and everywhere (3Es), contributing their time, talent, treasure, ties and testimony (5Ts). Learn more at nvpc.org.sg
