Gobi Partners, the most interconnected Pan-Asian venture capital (VC) firm with US$1.5 billion in assets under management, has recently appointed Carlo Chen-Delantar as its Head of ESG, to advance further the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda. He will replace Gobi’s outgoing ESG Head, Paul Ark.
Delantar, a founding partner of the Gobi-Core Philippine Fund (Gobi-Core), a joint-venture partnership between Gobi Partners and Core Capital investing in promising Filipino startups, will assume this new assignment in concurrence with his position as the Head of Circular Economy for Gobi ASEAN.
Leveraging his varied expertise across the fields of entrepreneurship and early-stage investing, particularly in the fast-growing Philippine startup ecosystem, Delantar will be taking on a greater role in the company’s approach to the circular economy, underserved communities, and women entrepreneurs.
Among these are Gobi Partners’ diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, such as its TaqwaTech investment strategy to empower Muslim founders and economies, in addition to its women empowerment initiatives such as the Asia Gender Smart Investing Forum with United Nations Women and its annual gender-lens pitch competitions with She Loves Tech and its corporate social responsibility arm #GobiCares.
“I would like to first extend our appreciation and gratitude to Paul Ark for all the great work he has done for Gobi Partners. He has been an integral asset in setting up the framework and refining the company’s focus and training on ESG,” said Partner and ESG Committee Chairperson, Soo Wei Shaw.
Delantar’s appointment, she added, is a welcome development that would enrich Gobi Partners’ long-held responsible investment practice and enable the company to seek more impactful investments in value-generating startups and entrepreneurs by identifying untapped opportunities and catering to underserved markets and consumers.
“Carlo’s hands-on experience in integrating global ESG standards into the foundation and operations of early-stage startups will be fundamental for our portfolio’s sustainable growth. He is well positioned to balance the scales of profit, people, and the planet for Gobi Partners,” she added.
Before joining the Gobi family, Delantar operated and scaled sustainability-driven businesses which achieved Benefit Corporation (B Corp) and Cradle2Cradle certifications. He also served as the Philippines Country Director for the global non-profit Waves for Water, which provided clean water access to more than one million Filipinos through distributed filtration systems.
Delantar is currently a Circular Economy Pioneer at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and also served as the Co-Chair of the Global Shapers Climate Action Steering Committee at the World Economic Forum from 2018-2021. Under his leadership, the committee mobilized more than two million people in climate initiatives and contributed to changing 14 policies globally. He also sits on the GoTo group (IDX: GOTO)’s external Sustainability Advisory Council where he advises on the company’s ‘Three Zeros’ commitments (Zero Emissions, Zero Waste, Zero Barriers).
Delantar was also recognized in the 2018 Forbes Asia 30 under 30 and was awarded the Development Award and the Bayanihan Award by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for his humanitarian work.
As the principles of ESG and sustainability gains momentum across Philippine businesses, Delantar offered his insights on how Gobi Partners can create long-term value for the ecosystem. To begin with, he maintains Gobi’s ESG framework ensuring its investments remain socially responsible and consistent with best practices across the venture capital industry.
“As a participant of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and a signatory of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) by UN Women, we use international sustainability standards for our ESG framework from the UNGC, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), International Labor Organization (ILO) Multinational Enterprises (MNE) Declaration and United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),” said Delantar.
He adds, “During the pre-investment stage, companies are screened against our exclusion mandate based on the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Performance Standards and Corporate Governance Methodology, and extensive due diligence of ESG risks and opportunities are performed.”
Post-investment, Gobi’s monitoring teams ensure value creation by tracking and measuring key ESG factors customized to each company, providing its entrepreneurs with a competitive advantage in long-term financial sustainability and resiliency.
Delantar is optimistic about expanding Gobi Partners’ ESG platform against the backdrop of a growing digital economy.
“The digital economy is the biggest driving force of development in ASEAN. In the last three years, we saw 100 million internet users come online and going forward, the region’s digital economy is expected to grow twice as fast as the GDP through 2030. I believe that Gobi can help digital economy players positively shift the economy towards a sustainable, innovative, and compassionate future,” said Delantar.
“Outside of our commitments, ESG is a journey where improvements are to be made every year. Our portfolio startups range from early stage to late stage, each one with different needs. As for emerging technologies we are optimistic supporters of the circular economy, TaqwaTech, and gender-diverse startups,” Delantar concluded.
Founded in 2002, Gobi has raised 15 funds to date, invested in over 320 startups, and nurtured 10 unicorns. Gobi has grown to 15 locations across key markets in Bangkok, Beijing, Cairo, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, Manila, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Surabaya.