DBS Foundation Grants SGD 4.5 Million to 22 Businesses for Impact Including 4 from India

India’s four, purpose-driven grant awardees to receive a total of SGD 700,000 from the DBS Foundation, along with access to expert mentorship and networking from DBS Bank

India – Business Wire India

DBS Foundation (DBSF) has selected 22 Businesses for Impact (BFIs) from across its key markets[1], including four enterprises from India, to receive funding under its Annual Grant Award programme. Chosen from over 1,500 applicants, the cohort of final grantees will receive total funding of SGD 4.5 million, to help scale their businesses and hence help communities in need. The impact from these 22 ventures is projected to collectively benefit over 800,000 beneficiaries over the next two years.

The BFIs are aligned with the DBS Foundation’s focus areas - providing essential needs (e.g. basic education, nutrition, healthcare) and fostering inclusion through upskilling, increasing employability and other opportunities. Tackling the challenges of ageing societies is an issue that affects many parts of Asia and is a growing concern in India as well. It is a key priority for the DBSF and a quarter of this year’s grantees are dedicated to this cause. The grant programme builds on DBSF’s broader efforts to scale longevity businesses that meet the needs of ageing societies. This includes the Impact Beyond Award, launched in 2024, which aims to identify and support visionary businesses developing solutions that help individuals age with dignity, purpose, and joy.

The DBSF grant programme empowers innovative social enterprises and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) that drive positive impact by providing them with both capital and expertise to scale. Beyond the funding, grantees benefit from comprehensive support from the bank, including targeted guidance, mentorship, capacity-building, networking opportunities, and more. Since 2015, DBS Foundation has provided more than SGD 21.5 million[2] in grant funding to over 160 Businesses For Impact and the programme’s alumni have gone on to raise 10x in further funding for themselves.

Azmat Habibulla, Managing Director and Head - Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank India, said, “As a purpose driven bank, we are committed to empowering the communities that we live and work in. The DBS Foundation’s annual grant program is a core pillar of this commitment and goes beyond banking to support innovative organisations that are trying to address some of the most challenging issues with inclusive solutions. We are incredibly proud of this year’s grantees, comprising the four outstanding Businesses for Impact from India, whose work aligns with our vision of uplifting the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable. By providing them with mentorship, expertise and the resources needed to scale their solutions sustainably, we aim to create a better, more equitable future for all."

The four Grant Awardees from India are:

• Hasiru Dala Innovations is a social enterprise on the mission to build a world with no waste and no waste pickers through its unique ethos of Inclusive Circularity(R). They empower waste pickers to become green-collar(R) professionals and entrepreneurs; and help create predictable livelihoods for them. The DBSF grant will be used to upgrade Hasiru Dala Innovations' existing plastic waste processing capacity in Bengaluru and to enable them to expand to new markets.

• Atypical Advantage is India’s largest livelihood platform for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) that bridges the inefficiencies on both the supply and demand sides to ensure that PWDs can earn a dignified income. They will use the DBSF grant to run skills-training centers and develop inclusive training material.

• Neurosynaptic Communications brings healthcare to rural areas with telemedicine to make sure no one is left behind. They have a vision to make quality healthcare affordable and accessible for 100 million Indians by 2027. The DBSF grant will be deployed towards establishing two new centres to provide medical/consultation services.

• Last Mile Care - offers comprehensive, affordable healthcare services for workers and their families in workplace settings which include periodic health checkups, teleconsultation and allied healthcare services from a single roof. They intend to use the DBSF Grant to further scale their model by setting up a large phygital healthcare unit in Odisha which will serve the industrial workforce in the state.

Beyond supporting Businesses for Impact, the DBS Foundation also works with like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors to drive various support programmes for vulnerable communities. In November last year, DBS Foundation deployed SGD 88 million to launch 15 new programmes in its key markets, aimed at helping those in need to build towards better circumstances over time. In 2023, DBS announced that over the next ten years, it would commit up to SGD 1 billion, along with 1.5 million employee volunteering hours across its markets to improve lives and livelihoods.

For more information on DBSF’s work and the DBSF grant programme, please visit: https://www.dbs.com/foundation/grants.html

[1] Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, India, Indonesia

[2] This figure includes this latest instalment of the DBS Foundation grant programme

About DBS

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the world. In 2025, CRISIL Ratings reaffirmed its ‘CRISIL AAA/Stable’ rating on the corporate credit facility of DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL). The rating on the certificate of deposits programme was also reaffirmed at ‘CRISIL A1+’.

Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Global Finance, “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney and “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney and the world’s “Most Innovative in Digital Banking” by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia“ award by Global Finance for 16 consecutive years from 2009 to 2024. In 2025, DBS Bank India was recognised as the Best Bank for Corporate Banking and Best Bank for Corporate Cash Management in India by CRISIL - Coalition Greenwich. Reinforcing its commitment to responsible banking and business practices, DBS was also named Best Bank for Sustainable Finance – India by Global Finance in 2024 and Best Bank for Diversity & Inclusion – India by Euromoney in 2024.

DBS Bank has been present in India for 30 years, opening its first office in Mumbai in 1994. DBS Bank India Limited is the first among the large foreign banks in India to start operating as a wholly owned, locally incorporated subsidiary of a leading global bank. As a trusted partner, DBS provides a range of banking services for large, medium, and small enterprises and individual consumers in India, focusing on a seamless customer experience that helps them ‘Live more, Bank less’. In November 2020, Lakshmi Vilas Bank was merged with DBS Bank India Limited. DBS Bank India is now present in ~350 locations in 19 Indian states.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.

About DBS Foundation

Established in 2014, DBS Foundation is committed to uplifting lives and livelihoods of those in need. It provides essential needs to the underprivileged, and fosters inclusion by equipping the underserved with financial and digital literacy skills. It also nurtures innovative social enterprises that create positive impact. It aims to bring hope to those with less today, so no one is left behind and we can all face the future with confidence.

In 2024, DBS committed up to SGD 1 billion dollars over the next decade to support vulnerable communities. It also pledged to contribute 1.5 million employee volunteer hours over the same period.

Together with an ecosystem of like-minded partners, DBS Foundation seeks to create impact that goes beyond banking, beyond borders, and beyond generations.

For more information, please visit: www.dbs.com/dbsfoundation.

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