Temasek Trust’s Co-Axis raises $925k for climate, health

Co-Axis, a digital platform that connects funders with opportunities aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has raised S$1.25 million (US$925,000) in funding.

Contributors include the Richardson Family (RF), a UK-based family office, and Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health (C3H), a vehicle supported by Temasek Trust.

The Richardson Family committed S$250,000 (US$190,571), over two years to co-fund projects curated by Co-Axis.

C3H contributed S$1 million (US$769,350) to support initiatives that focus on climate, health, and their intersection.

Both contributors will use C3H’s due diligence process and reporting framework for their investments.

🔗 Source: Co-Axis

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Catalytic capital is evolving from experimental concept to strategic financing tool

The Co-Axis initiative represents a broader trend in how catalytic capital has matured from isolated philanthropic experiments to structured investment approaches with defined methodologies.

MacArthur Foundation alone has deployed $150 million through its Catalytic Capital Consortium, demonstrating the scale these approaches are now reaching 1.

Historical evidence shows the effectiveness of this approach. Over 15 years, MacArthur invested $150 million in affordable housing initiatives that ultimately financed or preserved over 150,000 housing units 2.

The partnership between Richardson Family, C3H, and Co-Axis highlights how catalytic investments increasingly follow standardized due diligence processes and reporting frameworks, rather than ad-hoc charitable giving.

This evolution reflects a broader shift in impact investing toward more sophisticated and replicable structures, where catalytic capital is now recognized as an essential component in addressing significant global challenges like the SDGs.

2️⃣ Multi-stakeholder platforms are addressing the fragmentation challenge in impact investing

Co-Axis’s digital marketplace approach tackles a fundamental obstacle in the impact investing ecosystem, connecting appropriate capital with vetted opportunities across geographic boundaries.

The platform’s growth to approximately 100 impact opportunities from over 40 countries in just months since its April 2024 launch demonstrates significant demand for this coordinating function.