Abbie Jung

Abbie Jung is the Co-Founder of Synergy Social Ventures, a pioneering non-profit organization that has been supporting early-stage social ventures across Southeast Asia since 2011. Based in both Hong Kong and San Francisco initially, and now operating from Singapore, Jung has dedicated over a decade to bridging the funding gap for impact-driven entrepreneurs who often struggle to secure capital in their earliest stages of development.

Together with co-founder Jana Svedova, Jung recognized a critical market failure in the impact investing ecosystem: while many investors prefer to back ventures that can demonstrate immediate results and traction, early-stage social entrepreneurs—who may need more time and support to achieve scale—are frequently overlooked. This insight led Jung and Svedova to establish Synergy Social Ventures as an organization specifically designed to provide appropriate financing and capacity-building resources to startup social ventures that traditional investors might consider too risky or premature.

Jung's approach to impact investing is characterized by a deep commitment to long-term systemic change rather than quick returns. She has been instrumental in creating experiential philanthropic education programs, including the Future Funders Giving Circle, which encourages young professionals to engage in strategic giving and provides them with hands-on experience evaluating and supporting social ventures. This reflects her broader vision of building a new generation of informed, engaged philanthropists and impact investors across Asia.

Beyond her work at Synergy Social Ventures, Jung is an active member of the broader impact investing and social innovation ecosystem in Asia. She co-founded Social Provocateurs in October 2012, a Hong Kong-based network of young professionals engaged in addressing local and global social issues. She has served as a volunteer peer reviewer for Grand Challenges Canada (2014-2017), evaluating grant applications for Global Mental Health, Saving Lives at Birth, and Saving Brains initiatives. She also served as an evaluator for Echoing Green (2014-2016), one of the world's leading organizations supporting emerging social entrepreneurs, and as a judge for the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia (2014-2015).

Jung is multilingual, with native proficiency in English, limited working proficiency in Mandarin, and elementary proficiency in both Cantonese and French, enabling her to work effectively across diverse cultural and linguistic contexts in Asia. In July 2025, she earned certification in Impact Indicators, Measurement and Reporting from IBFSG, demonstrating her commitment to rigorous impact assessment and evidence-based philanthropy.

Abbie Jung's investment philosophy centers on the belief that early-stage social entrepreneurs deserve access to patient capital and comprehensive support systems that enable them to build sustainable, scalable solutions to pressing social and environmental challenges. Through Synergy Social Ventures, Jung has championed a model that combines flexible financing (grants, repayable grants, and debt/equity investments) with mentorship programs and consultation services.

Core Investment Areas:

Investment Approach: Jung believes that many investors in the impact space prefer to fund entrepreneurs that can deliver immediate, measurable results rather than supporting early-stage ventures that may need additional time to demonstrate impact at scale. To address this gap, Synergy Social Ventures provides startups across Southeast Asia with tailored support that meets them where they are in their development journey. The organization focuses on ventures operating in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Value-Add to Portfolio: Beyond capital, Jung and the Synergy team provide capacity-building resources, strategic guidance, and access to networks of mentors, advisors, and potential funders. The organization's Future Funders Giving Circle program also creates opportunities for portfolio companies to connect with the next generation of philanthropists and impact investors.

Recent Strategic Focus (2025-2026): Jung has expanded her impact work beyond Synergy Social Ventures to join the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), where she is committed to catalyzing high-impact projects, fostering collaboration at scale, and building capacity to strengthen Asia's ability to drive meaningful change. Her current priorities include investing in green talent, improving data collection and evidence-based decision-making, and mobilizing new funders to scale high-impact solutions. She recently attended the AVPN Global Conference 2025 in Hong Kong, participating alongside 1,500+ social investment leaders focused on advancing impact across Asia.

• Poverty Alleviation: Supporting ventures that create economic opportunities and improve livelihoods for underserved populations
• Access to Essential Services: Backing entrepreneurs who expand access to healthcare, education, clean water, financial services, and other critical resources
• Environmental Sustainability: Investing in solutions that promote climate resilience, conservation, and sustainable resource management

Synergy Social Ventures Portfolio: Synergy Social Ventures has supported numerous early-stage social enterprises across Southeast Asia since 2011, providing grants, repayable grants, and equity investments to ventures addressing poverty, access to essential services, and environmental sustainability. Specific portfolio company information is not publicly disclosed in detail, consistent with the organization's focus on supporting ventures at their most vulnerable early stages.

Geographic Reach: The organization supports ventures operating in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, with a concentration in Southeast Asian markets.

Co-Authored Resources: In January 2014, Jung co-authored "Accelerating Youth-Led Social Ventures in Asia: A Resource Guide" with Jana Svedova, supported by the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs. This publication provides practical guidance for organizations and individuals seeking to support young social entrepreneurs throughout East and Southeast Asia, reflecting her commitment to building ecosystem infrastructure.