Singapore-headquartered Temasek Trust and the World Bank Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership integrating philanthropic capital with global development finance.
The MoU was executed on the sidelines of the inaugural World Bank Group Philanthropy Forum, held during the institution’s Annual Meetings in Bangkok.
The collaboration connects Temasek Trust’s catalytic capital platforms and innovation networks with the World Bank Group’s country-level insights, technical expertise, and institutional scale.
Key strategic priorities and operational focus areas include:
- Convening & multilateral dialogues: Facilitating joint leadership platforms across the World Bank Group Philanthropy Forum and the Philanthropy Asia Summit, while aligning efforts with World Bank initiatives such as Mission 300 and Water Forward.
- Knowledge exchange & data integration: Connecting philanthropic ecosystems with World Bank datasets and sectoral research to translate pilot projects into scalable development models across water, agriculture, health, climate, and energy sectors.
- Capital mobilisation & alignment: Developing coordinated capital aggregation frameworks to align private, philanthropic, and multilateral financing toward shared development targets.
- Regional hub establishment: Establishing a dedicated Knowledge Node at Temasek Shophouse in Singapore in 2027 as part of the World Bank Group Philanthropy Hub, providing regional partners with direct access to development analytics and institutional networks.
Paschal Donohoe, Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer at the World Bank Group, stated that strategic alliances with philanthropic organisations are vital to scaling proven solutions and addressing growing global development demands.
Desmond Kuek, Executive Director and CEO of Temasek Trust, added that flexible philanthropic capital can absorb early-stage risk, enabling cross-sector partnerships to bridge systemic funding gaps across emerging markets.
The parties noted that specific co-financing commitments or individual project deployments under the MoU will be evaluated separately under their respective institutional governance procedures.
