Kevin Chin

The circular economy offers organisations a systematic way of solving some of the biggest problems of the world today. The economic model focusses on extending the value of existing raw materials and products to mitigate the impacts of materials extraction. It also prioritises the use of renewable energy over fossil fuels to help curb carbon emissions in many industries.  Far from being a recent invention, the concept of circularity has been around for a very long time. Societies have been experimenting with cycles and feedback loops in production for thousands of years. However, it was not until the advent of global crises, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, that CE solutions became widely accepted.  Now, more governments and businesses have started to adopt the circular economy approach. The future of many industries depends on how they can effectively use the finite resources available in the world. What is a circular economy? The cir...

As we emerge from lockdowns, environmental goals have become a core focus as global economies and industries plan to ‘build back greener’ – recovering from the pandemic in a sustainable way. This presents an opportunity for companies to commit to their ESG strategies and attract both investors and new business. Indeed, governments around the world have been announcing scoping policies outlining ambitious decarbonisation goals. Take, for example, Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office. The US President has re-joined the Paris Climate Agreement . He also proposed a $2 trillion green infrastructure plan to deliver a target of 50-52% reduction in US Greenhouse Gas Pollution from 2005 levels by 2030. While much has been said in the rush to achieve net-zero from a political perspective, the private sector has faced different challenges. Companies are treading the fine line between profitability and sustainability. Targeting the private sector Today, green-tech has advanced to su...

 “EdVentureCo’s vision is to build an Asia Pacific leader in vocational and professional education and training. Our mission is to deliver relevant skills first and qualifications second, enabling students to up-skill and re-skill, addressing the skills needed tomorrow, today.” At Arowana , we founded and scaled up a vocational education company called Intueri Education Group (“Intueri”) which in a period of 4 years became the largest private VET group in New Zealand with a fast growing and highly profitable online business in Australia. Intueri was initially formed in May 2010 with the purchase of a small Christchurch based vocational college called Design and Arts College. We subsequently executed a buy and build strategy overcoming numerous growing pains challenges, including the debilitating impact of 2 earthquakes in Christchurch, to scale up Intueri from NZ$1m EBIT to NZ$20m EBIT between May 2010 and May 2014. Intueri was IPOed in May 2014 at a market cap...

“The Swiss vocational education model is considered the “gold standard”,  as it has achieved what few countries have been able to do―which is closure of the skills gap and maintaining very low levels of youth unemployment and underemployment. The “earn while you learn” apprenticeships are highly regarded by students and employers alike, and the permeability of education pathways has fostered a culture of lifelong learning in Switzerland.” As a result of nearly a decade of being an investor in and operator of vocational education colleges, we have studied various models of delivery being practised globally. There are essentially four models of vocational education and training being practised around the world: Dual VET School-based VET Career Education Regulated Training The essential difference between each model is who holds the balance of power in designing curricula and delivering vocational education programmes: the government (through its education an...

Arowana’s private credit investment arm has reached agreement with ICAM Duxton STC Holdings Pty Ltd (ICAM) regarding the early settlement of its secured infrastructure debt facility for the Lucky Bay Port in South Australia.  This has enabled co-investors with Arowana to realise a return in excess of the target IRR of 15%. Lucky Bay provides an alternative grain supply channel for grain growers and other commodity suppliers on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.  It is run by ICAM Duxton Port Infrastructure Trust (IDPIT) with ICAM as the fund manager and T-Ports as the operator, specialising in innovative logistical solutions for the export of Australian commodities. T-Ports was established by IDPIT in 2018 to initiate construction and project management of the Lucky Bay Port Facility development, with ICAM securing private debt and equity capital. The Lucky Bay Port generates road freight savings for grain growers from the Eyre Peninsula of up to $15...

  Established in 2014 and headquartered out of Sydney, Australia, Arowana Funds Management has managed capital for external investors across several strategies including private equity, private credit, special situations, and listed global equities. The genesis of Arowana was an enterprise software business called RuleBurst Haley that was turned around and scaled globally before its acquisition by Oracle in 2008. With some of the proceeds of that sale, Arowana Capital was set up to operate as a private equity fund, with our principal’s capital as well as capital from external family offices and institutional fund of funds. In addition, we germinated an unlisted fund in 2009 to invest in listed equities, but in this case with only the capital of our own in-house team. Both the private equity fund and the listed equities fund performed admirably over the ensuing five years, generating net returns of about 20% per annum. As a result of interest from external inves...

  Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's and Eileen Fisher did it. Do you have what it takes to achieve B Corp accreditation? This article was published on  Inc.com  by the Entrepreneurs' Organisation . Kevin Chin, an  Entrepreneurs' Organisation  member in London, United Kingdom and Brisbane, Australia, is the author of HyperTurnaround! and founder and CEO of  Arowana , a certified B Corporation which invests in, operates and grows small to medium-sized enterprises. We asked Kevin about the process of becoming a B Corporation. Here's what he shared: How did you learn about becoming a B Corporation? I first learned  about B Corporations --the B stands for beneficial--in September 2016 when, during a conference, my preferred session was full, so I walked into a session about B Corps. I knew nothing about them beforehand. I walked out convinced that B Corps would become a gold standard certification, that  the ethos of B Corps  aligned with our...