Asterion Industrial Partners launches its program “Asterion for Local Communities”
Madrid, December 16th, 2020 – We at Asterion try to stand by our values in everything we do, from the way our internal processes are implemented, to how we conduct business and how we relate with the different stakeholders. Asterion strives to be a change agent in society, partnering with its portfolio companies to create best-in-class businesses that not only deliver high quality services but also do it on a way that is sensitive to how their actions affect society (its employees, the environment, local communities, etc.). Since inception in 2018, Asterion has been working to ensure it is accountable with the same high standards it requires from its portfolio companies. As an integral part of the communities we are present in, we feel it is our responsibility and obligation to engage with and help to invest in those communities.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the key drivers of determining where to direct our efforts to support our local communities, especially being based in one of the most affected cities, Madrid. As this difficult year 2020 comes to an end, we at Asterion would like to share with you a summary of the initiatives we are involved with to help support our local communities. We are also happy to share the launch of our program “Asterion for Local Communities“, with the goal of aggregating these initiatives and providing an ongoing framework that sponsors projects aligned with our values and which support our local communities. We encourage our employees to participate also on a personal level in these initiatives, either making proposals of projects close to them that our internal committee can evaluate or contributing to the financing personally. For the latter, there is a matching program by which Asterion will match the employee contribution to any project.
The projects we have engaged with are focused on addressing different forms of inequality, especially in more vulnerable groups where Covid-19 has had a significant impact. We have focused on digitalization projects as well, in line with our investment activity, as we believe bridging the digital gap is a critical tool to creating equal opportunities.
We also would like to thank all the teams and foundations involved in the below projects for their fantastic work and initiatives and for letting us be a part of it. We hope this provides them a further platform for growth and more visibility for the tremendous work they do. We are excited about this first step and look forward to many future projects together.
Summary of the projects that have been part of the Asterion for Local Communities program during 2020:
In the early stages of the pandemic in March 2020, we collaborated with Auara Empresa Social on their initiative #AguaParaHospitalesCovid19, which had the goal of donating bottled water to Spanish hospitals to meet their urgent needs due to the coronavirus emergency. Asterion contributed with a donation equivalent to 100K litres of bottled water representing one-week’s supply for the hospitals. Auara is a social company that sells sustainable bottled water using 100% of its dividends to bring clean water to rural areas in developing countries.
We have supported Fundación A LA PAR in two different projects:
- Financing to cover extraordinary expenses derived from Covid-19 crisis in one of their projects, “Vivienda Tutelada”, (mainly protection and hygiene measures and hiring of additional personnel to respond to new needs). The “Vivienda Tutelada” project provides support for people with intellectual disability to be able to live out of their families’ home.
- Co-financing the creation of an e-learning platform to be developed during 2020 and 2021 and to which c. 400 students with intellectual disability will have access each year. The goal of this platform is to continue to give inclusive training adapting to the current needs, reaching more students, and making sure they are part of important social trends such as digitalization.
Fundación A LA PAR is a foundation that works with people with intellectual disability in Madrid, with focus on education and employment.
Project in collaboration with Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa) and Asociación Solidaria Universitaria to provide access to essential goods (food, personal care, school supplies) to 89 vulnerable families (over 400 people) in the Madrid area of Vallecas.
Asociación Solidaria Universitaria (ASU) is a non-profit based in Madrid that works closely with the Missionaries in many countries in development cooperation projects.
The team’s collaboration with Norte Joven comes back a long way. During 2020 we have collaborated in two projects:
- Co-financing the digital transformation of the Charity, through two projects, that has enabled training of teachers and volunteers for the use of digitals tools, adapting and offering online academic training for vulnerable young adults, reducing the digital gap, increasing their skills and offering them computers when needed.
- Organization of the annual lunch event “Cocido Solidario”, prepared by Norte Joven students (from their cooking and hospitality modules) to raise awareness of the foundation and the great work they do, as well as to raise funds.
Norte Joven is a non-profit that works for social and employment integration of people in vulnerable situations in Madrid, most of them young people between 16 and 25, through professional training and education to complete their basic schooling.
Initiative to rebuild Madrid after Covid-19 crisis, with a set of economic and social initiatives around the pillars of (i) Spanish language and culture, (ii) health and wellbeing and (iii) sports, and with a special focus on sustainability and the digital transformation of the city. An association was created by 31 founding members and now has over 60, including Asterion and many high profile, Madrid-based companies in different sectors, and will be chaired by the city mayor. The close collaboration of the public and private sectors is a key element of this project.
As we did last year, Asterion and its employees have collaborated with Soñar Despierto and Their Majesties The Three Kings to bring presents to the children the foundation works with. Soñar Despierto is a non-profit that works to improve the institutional foster care experience of children living in these institutions.
ABOUT ASTERION INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS
Asterion Industrial Partners is an independent investment management firm focusing on infrastructure investments in the European mid-market. Headquartered in Madrid and with presence in London and Paris, Asterion combines transactional and operational experience with an industrial approach and active asset management within an independent and nimble platform. Asterion aims to promote operational transparency, responsible investment practices, best-in-class governance and a strong culture both for itself and in the companies in which it invests.
