Turning Research Into Impact
In June 2025, WAITRO Operations e.V. (on behalf of WAITRO) and Seneca Impact Advisors signed a Memorandum of Understanding to co-develop the Project Development and Advancement Program (PDAP), a new initiative designed to help WAITRO member organizations move beyond research and toward implementation. PDAP aims to transform promising ideas into bankable, scalable projects that attract capital and drive systemic change in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A New Chapter for WAITRO and Its Members
PDAP represents a strategic shift for WAITRO: from enabling knowledge creation to enabling knowledge application. It embodies a stronger commitment to delivering measurable social, environmental, and economic impact. By combining the scientific strength of WAITRO’s global network with the financial and operational expertise of partners like Seneca, we aim to deliver on our mission: Innovation for Sustainable Development.
What Comes Next? And How You Can Get Involved
With the MoU in place, PDAP is entering its pre-launch development phase. In the coming months, WAITRO and Seneca will engage donors and funders to support the program’s setup. We are actively seeking partners, sponsors, and financial supporters to help co-develop, launch, and scale this initiative. Support is needed for both WAITRO and Seneca to realize the full potential of PDAP. We invite expressions of interest from:
- Funding agencies and foundations
- Development finance institutions
- Impact investors
- Strategic collaborators
Contact
For inquiries or expressions of interest, please reach out to: Dominik Reinertz – d.reinertz[at]waitro.org
Seneca and WAITRO: A Valued Partnership
Seneca and WAITRO have collaborated on multiple occasions over the years. In 2020, Jean-Marc Champagne, founder and Managing Director of Seneca Impact Advisors, delivered a presentation during the WAITRO Innovation Award Finale. He continued to support WAITRO by contributing to the WAITRO SDG Impact Awards in both 2022 and 2024. Jean-Marc and his team also played a key role in organizing the WAITRO Summit 2024 in Nanjing, China. We are proud to have Seneca as a trusted and committed partner on our journey to scale research for global impact.
About Seneca Impact Advisors
Seneca Impact Advisors is a specialist advisory firm based in Hong Kong with extensive experience and networks in the Asia-Pacific region. It specialises in developing innovative financial solutions for scalable and commercially viable nature and climate positive projects. Seneca’s aim is to mobilise private-sector capital to protect and restore nature. Seneca was formed to bridge the financing gap between traditional conservation and private investment capital seeking returns. There is a growing amount of capital with a willingness to invest in nature-based projects with highly impactful and measurable outcomes. However, there have been few scalable and commercially viable projects to attract investment capital. By working with leading NGOs, environmentally passionate entrepreneurs, and ESG-concerned corporates, the team at Seneca has been successfully originating and developing projects to meet the demand from funders. With enhanced public awareness about the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and resource depletion there is a significant amount of capital seeking nature and climate positive investments. Structuring bankable projects requires knowledge of both conservation and investments. The team at Seneca combines its passion for the natural world with financial and technical expertise to help build commercially viable projects which contribute positively to the environment and society.
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