Impact Investing

New narrative to position Africa as an ideal impact investment frontier

Climate Journal reporting — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:55:04 +0000

New narrative to position Africa as an ideal impact investment frontier

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Africa

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The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) launched a new communication channel, The Africa Advantage digital magazine, to smash assumptions and showcase the continent as a globally competitive destination for impact capital.

As an ecosystem builder and a network of social investors collaborating to mobilise and deploy impact investments in Africa, AVPA hopes that with this new format, they can better present market potential, innovation, human capital and a wealth of untapped opportunities.

“Africa's complex and unique social challenges have often been viewed as an embarrassment, but instead, we see them as exciting impact investing opportunities for social transformation”, says Dr Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA and the Editor-in-Chief of The Africa Advantage magazine.

The first edition of the publication features a collection of sector or opportunity-specific articles written by African experts, highlighting the unique opportunities not just for Africa but the world at large.

Topics include Africa`s impact investing landscape, interviews with leading changemakers, impact entrepreneurs and policymakers such as Ojoma Ochai, Managing Partner of The Creative Economy Practice at CC Hub, which aims to stimulate innovation and technology application to catalyse African Creative Economy growth.

Dr Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA and the Editor-in-Chief of The Africa Advantage magazine.

Dr Aswani adds:

“We intend to connect a diverse network of social investors, ecosystem enablers, innovators, policymakers and knowledge actors, not just within Africa, but also with those from Asia, Europe, North and Latin America.”

AVPA believes that while Africa faces socio-environmental challenges similar to those of other developing regions, it contains unique features that, when fully exploited, can potentially bring innovative sustainable solutions to regional and global challenges.

The organisation emphasised that unique opportunities could arise from a continent characterised by its young and diverse population, rich natural resources and various social challenges, providing unparalleled opportunities for testing innovative and globally scalable solutions.

They see these factors as enablers, making Africa the ideal sandbox for innovations with positive societal and environmental impact while testing new markets, products, services, new finance structures and impact business models.

The scope of The Africa Advantage magazine is to go beyond information dissemination and build a foundation to catalyse discussions and ultimately stimulate incremental impact capital deployment to and on the continent.

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November 2023

Alarming global decline in investing in impact businesses

Climate Journal reporting — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 14:26:04 +0000

Alarming global decline in investing in impact businesses

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Data concerning a significant global slowdown in venture capital funding in startups primarily working on climate tech, renewable energy, circular economy, and social justice projects has been revealed in the Impact Startups 2023 report presented at the international ImpactFest event in the Netherlands.

The research published in November by ImpactCity and Dealroom.co predicts about a one-third drop in investing in impact startups that are addressing one or more UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally compared to 2022 levels, with over $41 billion in funds raised in 2023, so far.

"The impact investment landscape is suffering from the increased interest rates and global economic slowdown. Impact funding has decreased in line with the rest of the market, so looking narrowly at this year, we are not seeing it outperforming other investment themes,”

says Lorenzo Chiavarini, Venture Capital Research Lead & Impact Specialist at Dealroom.co.

The Impact Startup 2023 report predicts significant drop in VC funding in the impact ecosystem. Source: Dealroom.co

These findings also feed into the worrying development that none of the 17 UN SDGs are on track to be achieved by the original deadline in 2030, which will also be discussed at the upcoming COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference in November in Dubai.

However, Chiavarini highlights that “zooming out in the last ten years, impact funding has grown 12x, more than twice the rest of the market”, saying that they “are confident Impact will start outperforming the rest of tech again in the coming years".

Despite the heavy decline, climate tech and affordable energy companies have been found to be at the forefront of unlocking investment while solutions addressing social challenges are least funded, according to this recent study that analysed the database of 17,000 impact startups.

One of the alarming trends showcased was the dramatic drop in funding for circular economy startups in fashion from its peak in 2021 at $1.8 billion to $140.8 million in 2023 at this point, despite the enormous environmental impact of the fashion industry.

The research found that Europe is leaving the US behind in becoming the leading impact investing destination while proving to be more resilient in the downturn, with the Netherlands` over-index on impact on top of the ratings compared to the European average.

Europe has taken the lead in attracting VC funding for impact businesses. Source: Dealroom.co

"It's stunning to see Europe becoming the top destination for venture capital impact investments for the first time ever. Europe has always been more impact-oriented than other regions like North America and Asia, now attracting nearly $15B of impact VC funding,"

Chiavarini adds.

Numbers also revealed that low and middle-income countries are lagging behind in attracting impact investments, securing only a minimal 5 per cent share of global impact funding even though they are most vulnerable to climate change impact and hosting over 50% of the global population.

Despite the report, the leading European annual impact event, ImpactFest, has sustained its popularity since 2016 among investors and startups, combining 'doing good and doing business', presenting solutions, and learning and networking opportunities to shake up the investment landscape.

ImpactFest is hosted by ImpactCity, an ecosystem builder supporting the development of impact companies. The event is traditionally held at the Fokker Terminal in collaboration with the Municipality of The Hague, Unknown Group, and KplusV and empowered by various partners, including Rabobank and B Lab.

ImpacFest is the leading European annual impact event. Image: ImpactCity

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November 2023

First Impact Syndicate in Ireland to invest €10M in sustainability start-ups

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 20:46:37 +0000

First Impact Syndicate in Ireland to invest €10M in sustainability start-ups

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Angel invetsors in Ireland will provide funding and supports to enterprises building on environmental, social and governance factors.

The Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) is launching a new Impact Syndicate aiming to collectively invest €10M in Irish enterprises focusing on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors besides traditional financial returns.

The Impact Syndicate will be officially launched at the online All-Island Conference on 2 February 2022.

Over the next three years, the syndicate will consider pitches from start-ups located in Ireland focusing on climate, agri-tech and food supply chain, energy, blue economy, health and cleantech.

L-Faye Walsh Drouillard, co-chair of HBAN Impact Syndicate; R-Julian Seymour, Syndicates Manager, HBAN

“Investors and entrepreneurs alike want to make a meaningful impact.

The global focus on ESG has created a market with almost boundless opportunities for growth, and we want to help Irish businesses to be a part of that story,” Julian Seymour, Syndicates Manager, HBAN, said about the launch. Seymour added that HBAN Impact Syndicate aims to support ground-breaking innovations that integrate ESG factors into their core business.

Based on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimations in 2020, the global market for Impact Investing reached up to $2.1 trillion in assets under management and that continues to grow.

Faye Walsh Drouillard, impact investor and co-founder of WakeUp Capital, will co-chair the syndicate and become the first female chair of a HBAN syndicate.

“Impact investing provides exciting financial potential for investors, while also enabling them to make a difference in the community and even the planet,”

says Walsh about the importance of this step.

“I am passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to drive real social and environmental change, and impact investing is central to this.”

Walsh has been involved with impact investing throughout her entire carrier and feels that by co-chairing the Impact Syndicate with highly experienced WakeUp Capital co-founder Mark Peters, they can facilitate growth in this area in Ireland. Besides helping sustainability start-ups scale, the syndicate also encourages angel investors to get involved.

At the All-Island conference, HBAN will host sessions focusing on impact investing and demystifying angel investment, which they hope will encourage existing and first-time angel investors to join their network and consider its Impact Syndicate.

Speakers at the conference include Marcia Dawood, chair of the Angel Capital Association in the US; serial entrepreneur Norman Crowley, founder of Crowley Carbon; and Loretta McCarthy, whose investor consortium Golden Seeds backs early-stage female-led businesses in the US.

HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network) is responsible for promoting business angel investment on the island of Ireland and a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland.

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January 2022

Investors in Asia and Africa are invited to join the growing impact investing market

Business Spirit News reporting — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 11:36:49 +0000

Investors in Asia and Africa are invited to join the growing impact investing market

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First Impact Investing Fellowship program for asset owners and managers in Asia and Africa was launched to offer learning and networking.

The Impact Investing Fellowship was born from the shared mission of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) and Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) to transform the social investment landscape and increase the flow of capital and resources towards impact investing in these regions.

This trailblazer project is designed to challenge the perception of asset owners and managers that impact investing is a trade-off for financial returns, and the private sector should only focus on achieving financial returns.

Organisers of the Fellowship program state that today’s impact investment market offers diverse and viable opportunities for investors to advance social and environmental solutions through investments that also produce financial returns.

“Both continents have huge potential to augment their economic and social potential and to build on their recent successes by sharing different experiences of growth and development,” says Bridget Fury, Head of Oppenheimer Generations Philanthropies about why a program like this is needed.

“There is scope for Asia and Africa to see synchronised, sustainable growth if we establish optimal alliances between the regions.”

Bridget Fury, Head of Oppenheimer Generations Philanthropies; Image: Harambeans

In the last four years, the compound annual growth rate in impact investing in East and Southeast Asia alone was 20%, higher than the U.S and Canada.

“There is a mismatch between the supply of impact investment capital and demand from impact businesses. Investors will need to find innovative means to tailor their funds and meet the needs of these businesses where they are,”

adds Dr. Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA.

Sixty participants will be selected in equal numbers from Asia and Africa to join the program that will help them have the right information and resources on building an impact investing strategy, managing a portfolio, defining, evaluating, and managing impact, among other skills.

In collaboration with Faculty from the Oxford Saïd Business School, impact investing experts will facilitate the program over four months.

Applications are open to asset managers, foundation directors, accelerators, incubators and NextGen leaders until 12 August 2021.

The first cohort of alumni will be supported by the unique network of AVPN, committed to building a vibrant and high impact social investment community across Asia, and the Pan-African network of AVPA that seeks to transform the social investing agenda in the continent.

Eventually, the Impact Investing Fellowship aims to increase the flow of social investment capital into Africa and Asia.

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July 2021

First extensive study on Social Investment in Africa reveals financial trends and gaps

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 11:50:05 +0000

First extensive study on Social Investment in Africa reveals financial trends and gaps

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The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance launched a high-level report on the state of social investment financing in Africa

The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) launched ‘The Landscape for Social Investments in Africa’ high-level inaugural report on the state of social investment financing in Africa.

The report is the first of several concerted efforts aimed at addressing information gaps on social investments in areas such as Philanthropy, Impact Investing, Private Capital deployment and Corporate Sustainability Programmes across sub-Saharan Africa.

AVPA is a unique Pan-African network established in 2018 for social investors, headquartered in Nairobi with offices in Johannesburg and Lagos, with a mission to drive a transformative social investing agenda and build vibrant, influential community across Africa.

Their work is aligned with thriving sister networks in Europe (EVPA), South America (Latimpacto), and Asia (AVPN) to form a dynamic global force for social impact.

AVPA facilitates the flow of human, intellectual and financial capital, not only within Africa but also across countries involved with its partner organisations globally.

The Landscape for Social Investments in Africa report

“Africa needs an estimated $500 billion - $1.2 trillion annually between now and 2030 to meet its financing gap for delivering on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals targets.

With traditional sources of social investment like aid and government funding unlikely to fill this gap. Therefore, we need to turn to the global financial and capital markets for the requisite investments, “ says Dr. Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA.

“This demands a good understanding of the social investment landscape on the continent and increasing collaboration amongst social investors by breaking down existing silos between providers of grants, debt and equity.

We are taking the first step in this direction with this study. It provides a baseline against which we can track future progress and key trends that will influence the increased flow of capital into social investments in Africa while working collaboratively to identify programmatic interventions for creating increased social impact.” adds Aswani in regards of carrying out this broad research.

Dr. Frank Aswani, CEO of The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance

The report presents findings of an eight-month study across 18 African countries - six each in West, East, and Southern Africa.

The study was commissioned by AVPA with support from the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), Social Capital Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and an anonymous donor.

"The US African Development Foundation (USADF) supported AVPA to carry out a landscape study to understand better social investment across East, West and Southern Africa.

The findings will help drive strategies and plans for future investors, donors, foundations, and public sector financiers.

We are constantly looking for ways to partner with corporations and governments that are interested in the business growth of Africa." C.D. Glin, President and CEO, US African Development Foundation

AVPA conducted the study in partnership with Intellecap, the advisory arm of The Aavishkaar Group, which works to build businesses that can benefit the underserved segments across Asia and Africa. It mapped providers of social capital - financial, human and intellectual, their investment strategies, and opportunities for collaboration amongst the various investors.

The findings highlight, among other things, what is currently happening, who are the key players, what are their current approaches to investing, what challenges they are facing, and the opportunities they are seeing. It also identifies additional areas of future research while making recommendations of opportunities to create a more vital ecosystem for increased capital flow and social impact on the continent.

Many social investors in sub-Saharan Africa operate in silos, necessitating strategic interventions to bridge gaps across the different types of capital and investment strategies.

Key findings of the report:

Over 820 social investors are operating in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region; 39% in East Africa, 31% in West Africa and 30% in Southern Africa.
The majority of social investment capital deployed across the regions continues to come from international sources with a growing number of active regionally-based social investors.

Overview of Key Social Investors in SSA

Donors, development finance institutions, and sustainability aligned fund managers are the largest providers of social capital across the SSA regions, deploying billions of dollars annually, mainly through long term projects.
Corporates and corporate foundations are emerging as strong drivers of regional social investment ecosystems.
While Southern Africa has the highest number of regional-based family foundations, a high level of activity was also recorded for regional family foundations in West Africa who are relatively public with information on their giving and the causes they support.
Regional Corporate Social Investors (CSIs) across sub-Saharan Africa largely support basic services (health and education) provision, while North American CSIs mostly focus on economic empowerment and entrepreneurship initiatives.
Development finance institutions and sustainability aligned fund managers investments across the regions are highly concentrated by geography and sector, following similar trends in sector preference with financial services, agriculture and energy.
Across the regions, tech-based enterprises focused on solving challenges in the financial services, agriculture, energy and healthcare challenges have received the highest focus from social investors.
Large pools of social investment capital deployed by African diaspora communities, faith-based organisations and other local capital providers represent a significant opportunity for collaboration with other social investors to make progress in key social sectors such as health care, education and affordable housing.
The supply of social investment capital in the SSA region remains significantly mismatched with demand from social enterprises and impact businesses.
With declining funding from donors and international foundations, non-profits are exploring alternative and more sustainable funding models.

The study includes an in-depth report for each of the three regions - East, West, and Southern Africa to provide detailed regional analyses.

Nancy Kairo, AVPA Executive Director for the East Africa region

“The East Africa section of this report shows there is an urgent need to diversify both the sources and the recipients of impact funds.

Development finance institutions are still among the largest providers of such capital, and most of these funds are invested in mature stage sustainable businesses that can absorb large amounts of capital.

Yet, to realise real change we need to see large capital flows from other sources such as the capital markets, high-net-worth individuals and grantors amalgamate in support of SMEs—the backbone of our economies.” says Nancy Kairo, AVPA Executive Director for the East Africa region.

AVPA plans to repeat this study every 2-3 years to track trends and improve the knowledge base within the ecosystem.

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November 2020

Alliances Could Not Just Save But Revive Social Innovators

Bronagh Loughlin — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 09:42:46 +0000

Alliances Could Not Just Save But Revive Social Innovators

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Social Economy stakeholders are joining forces to build alliances

Social innovators are coming together for four days to become more resilient at the virtual annual conference of The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA), running from the 21st to the 24th of September 2020.

Jorgos Papadakis, Marketing and Communications Director for the EVPA details his decision for choosing the theme ‘Building Alliance for Impact’.

He says, “We felt that Building Alliances for Impact was the right theme at the right time. It reflects not only the ever-growing need of all impact investing shareholders to join forces in order to maximize real societal change, but it also corresponds to the specifics of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dealing with the virus places a lot of these stakeholders, primarily social purpose organizations, under tremendous pressure. And while this annual conference won’t be a pandemic-oriented event, we will have extensive discussions and also showcase specific examples of how such challenges can be tackled in the most effective way”.

Jorgos Papadakis, Marketing and Communications Director, EVPA

The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) is a lively network of organisations sharing the same vision and a common goal: creating positive societal impact through venture philanthropy. Its membership covers a full range of organisations within the impact ecosystem, including venture philanthropy funds, social investors, grant-making foundations, impact investing funds, private equity firms, professional service firms, philanthropy advisers, banks and business schools.

The conference’s aim is to bring hundreds of professionals together via 60+ interactive and creative sessions where they will learn, engage, network and get visibility. The interactivity of this virtual event will enable collaboration by facilitating open discussions to explore the alliances which tackle global concerns.

EVPA annual conference brings together stakeholders from the #Investing4Impact networks

These open discussions will not only address the ‘why’ but also the ‘how’ which is essential when it comes to tackling global issues.

Although the conference will have a focus on Europe, collaboration truly knows no borders. Whether the discussion is about investing in Latin America, gaining insights into new platforms such as the Deal Share Platform for Africa or gathering information from Asia as a whole, collaboration is absolutely essential to credibly address the major challenges of our time.

To explore concrete ways of closer cooperation with affiliate #Investing4Impact networks and stakeholders, participants will have a unique opportunity to deep dive into various topics such as ‘just transition’, climate change and socially sustainable development.

Jorgos is passionate about the mission of EVPA and says, “Businesses can usually be investors with impact rather than for impact and this is understandable. On the other hand, they are an integral part of the ecosystem, as standalones or through their corporate foundations.

As such, we feel that they have a lot to contribute and a lot to learn by attending our annual conference as

we will showcase concrete examples of how meaningful investments can be conducted in a very difficult environment.

The conference’s 2nd day for instance is the perfect example on how to build a resilient ecosystem that can correspond to the post-Covid 19 landscape in the best possible way”.

The conference is divided into four main themes across the four days.

Day one is about building alliances. Beginning from the public sector and institutional investors, the effectiveness of venture philanthropy will be put to the test and the amount of risk investors for impact are willing to undertake to achieve societal change assessed.

Day two is under the theme of resilience where they will discuss how to prepare for the future with European business leaders, deal with systemic change, and build trust between social investors and public authorities while also learning from COVID-19 response examples in high impact ventures.

The theme for day three is social enterprises. Social entrepreneurship will be discussed along the whole investing for impact spectrum.

Day four will discuss scaling for impact. The conversation will surround what needs to be done in order to maximise impact exactly where it is needed and with the movement of all players.

Jorgos highlights some of the key points of the conference. He says,

“We’ve decided to split the conference into 4 main subthemes, Building Alliances, Resilience, Social Enterprises and Scaling For Impact.

We plan to showcase how to reach these strategic goals through dedicated sessions and workshops as well as design sprints with networks, social entrepreneurs, institutional investors and initiatives that have contributed to achieve real, tangible, impactful change.

I believe it is a unique, very diverse and very rewarding programme and we would like to invite all purpose-driven innovator, investor and other stakeholders to join us and co-shape the future. Because I firmly believe that investing for impact is the future”.

The EVPA Annual Conference is organised with the support of Impact Capital, DOEN Participaties, EIB Institute, Blueplanet Investments, Grupo Ageas Portugal, Erste Bank Group, Fondazione CRT, Demeter and Fundo Inovacao Social.

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September 2020

5 online events for changemakers to build back better

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 13:19:52 +0000

5 online events for changemakers to build back better

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Responsible Innovation

Business

Although most events are going online, changemakers can still make a positive impact

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most of the game-changer events designed to inspire positive change in society and business to move online. However, the lack of personal touch could actually provide a unique chance to expand and open up the discussions to a global audience.

In this way, organisers and participants can achieve a more significant impact. Here are some of the most exciting and impactful events where changemakers can connect, learn and get inspired.

For Impact Investors and Social Innovators

Building Alliances for Impact – annual conference of The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) - 21-24 September

This four days event aims to bring hundreds of professionals together via 60+ interactive and creative sessions to learn, engage, network and get visibility – and ultimately bring positive impact to those in need.

#Investing4Impact networks and stakeholders can deep dive here into topics like ‘just transition’, climate change and socially sustainable development. Participants can choose their area of focus and interest:

Day 1 – Building Alliances - Starting from the public sector and institutional investors, the effectiveness of venture philanthropy will be put to the test, and the amount of risk investors for impact are willing to undertake to achieve societal change assessed.

Day 2 – Resilience – How to prepare for the future with European business leaders, deal with systemic change, build trust between social investors and public authorities but also learn from Covid-19 response examples in high impact ventures.

Day 3 – Social Enterprise Day – Exploring social entrepreneurship along the whole investing for impact spectrum.

Day 4 – Scaling for Impact - What needs to be done in order to maximise impact exactly where it is needed and with the involvement of all players.

“The recent pandemic has clearly shown that building alliances are not only necessary but tremendously effective”, Steven Serneels, outgoing CEO, EVPA.

European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) is a lively network of organisations sharing the same vision and a common goal: creating positive societal impact through venture philanthropy. Currently, EVPA has over 300 members, mainly based in Europe, showing the sector is rapidly evolving across borders.

How to join: You can buy tickets online at the conference website

Special offer: EVPA offers 50 scholarships for organisations and individuals who would like to join the conference, but have financial restrictions that prevent them from buying the tickets at the regular price!

For Social Enterprise sector stakeholders

Digital Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) event - 21-25 September

This is the moment to champion the potential of social enterprises – small and large, rural and urban – to bring about inclusive and sustainable economic development.

Week-long online series of events and activities will feature keynotes and plenaries from three different world zones with live Q&A, online networking, and partner-organised fringe events. Speakers will include leading social entrepreneurs and changemakers from across the world, with over 3,000 participants from over 50 countries. SEWF Digital event week features three parts:

Monday/Tuesday focuses on connecting and learning through masterclasses, webinars, group discussion, specialist sessions, and sessions nominated by registered participants.
Wednesday/Thursday room partitions come down (virtually) with a series of keynote addresses and plenaries that will inspire and encourage action.
Friday will focus on reflection and next steps as we close the event.

Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) is the leading organisation for the global social enterprise movement.

They are challenging the failed economic models and build a movement by convening global and regional events, partnering with diverse organisations, and influencing policy dialogues.

Image: Pexels

How to join: Book paid tickets.

Reduced price tickets are available for students and small social enterprises. Bursary places are also available for those in lower-income and conflicted affected countries and those from an organisation who have experienced significant hardship due to COVID-19.

For Researchers and Innovators

European Research and Innovation Days - Bringing stakeholders together to shape future research and innovation policy - 22-24 September

This is the European Commission’s annual flagship Research and Innovation event, bringing together policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and the public to debate and shape the future of research and innovation in Europe and beyond.

By creating connections between cutting-edge scientific research and the most pressing challenges of a generation, this online gathering represents a unique opportunity to join the conversation and enact real change.

From tackling the climate crisis to building a digital world that works for everyone, participants can delve into the questions that shape who we are and the future we want to live in from the research and innovation perspective.

The conversations will cover the European Green Deal, Horizon Europe mission, the work of the European Innovation Council and more.

How to join: Create your online profile to access all virtual events.

The event is all about collaboration: bringing together individuals and experts from all areas to build connections and ignite a brighter future.

Circular Economy

Circular Week 2020 campaign - 12-18 October

The Circular Week 2020 is an educational and inspirational campaign which aims to inspire transformation towards a Circular Economy and raise awareness about sustainable production and consumption in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The initiative also offers an opportunity to sustainable businesses to promote their work and to stakeholders to connect, while reaching out to the broader public about responsible consumption. It also provides a platform where every organisation, institution or individual could become engaged and take part in this movement and forge alliances.

„In the face of today's epidemiological situation and the economic crisis that we experience, the transformation towards a circular economy seems to be an even more desirable and necessary direction of change”,

said Agnieszka Sznyk, President of the Board at INNOWO (Institute of Innovation and Responsible Development in Poland), main organiser of the event.

How to join: You can register to become a partner or join various events free of charge.

This year, organisers will put more emphasis on how to lead to the development of local entrepreneurship, economic stability with sustainable production and consumption.

For Leaders of Change

Responsible Innovation Summit – the virtual meeting point for innovators - 20-21 October

The power to change to world for the better is in the hands of every innovator. With each innovation, we have the chance not just to create something new but to benefit society, business and the planet.

The 4th edition of the annual international Responsible Innovation Summit aims to inspire innovators from business, research and policy to 'build back better' after the Covid19 pandemic adapting Responsible Innovation and sustainable business practices. Leaders of Change will come together virtually this year to cross-pollinate ideas, learn and network.

All discussions and networking will take place to raise awareness about Responsible Innovation, emerging business models making a 'Profit with Purpose' and to support value-driven enterprises. During the two days, speakers from all over the world will share their expertise, learn from each other and connect.

The main focus this year will be on creating a roadmap to Build Back Better by empowering collaboration; putting Responsible Innovation into practice; mainstreaming Profit with Purpose to become the new Business As Usual; look at leadership and communication trends and skill to deliver change.

Image: Getty images

Besides, three launch event will take place, which gives innovators a chance not just to listen but take action right away.

How to join: You can tune in to the plenary and panel discussions by registering or you can book an upgraded ticket to enjoy more benefits.

There is no shortage of possibilities to use this golden opportunity and facilitate systemic change!

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September 2020

Accelerating Investment Readiness programme for social enterprises

Szilvia Szabó — Wed, 20 May 2020 10:59:52 +0000

Accelerating Investment Readiness programme for social enterprises

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Responsible Innovation

International pitch competition and learning programme is open for social enterprises.

With a pitch competition and a blended learning opportunity, the ‘Accelerating Investment Readiness’ (AIR or #AirMOOC) programme offers a unique chance for social enterprises to gain knowledge, build their network and connect with impact investors at one go. This innovative programme is managed by 14 partners from 12 European countries as part of the ‘Finance4SocialChange’ EU Interreg project.

The pitch competition is open only for social innovators from the Danube region. Selected finalists will receive one-on-one mentoring, and each winner will get at least 10,000 € in prize money and exclusive access to an extensive impact investor network. Deadline for online application is 31st of May, 2020.

The learning course is free and open to anyone who wants to learn and get insights on social entrepreneurship, impact investments and scaling a value-driven enterprise. Besides the learnings, it offers a networking opportunity to connect with peers and impact investors from all over Europe.

“We have gathered leading experts in impact investing, purpose-driven business and progressive policy-making to provide inputs for reflection, share their experiences and co-create more sustainable and pro-social organizations,” says Dr Gorgi Krlev, who works at the Centre for Social Investment (CSI) of the University of Heidelberg and lead partner of the AIR project.

The aim of the ‘Accelerating Investment Readiness’ and #AirMOOC learning programme is to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange between stakeholders in the social innovation space, such as entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers.

The learning course will be launched on 25th of May and run for 6 weeks and offers six modules focusing on topics at the intersection of social entrepreneurship and impact investing with a specific focus on Measuring and managing Impact, Strategy, Finance, Governance, Scaling and Communication.

Participants in the #AirMOOC can learn practical skills about:

How do you best measure and manage social impact?
How do you build an integrated organizational strategy to create impact?
What is social and impact finance?
How do you master the specific governance features social ventures have?
What are the different pathways to scaling impact? How do you communicate (for) impact?

Experts involved in the #AirMOOC programme as speakers and contributors come from an impressive range of high-profile organizations and institutions, including SEIF Driving Impact Innovation, TEDx, Social Entrepreneurship Network Germany (SEND), the German Ministry of Economy in Baden-Württemberg, ResponsAbility Investments, Impact Collective Social Venture Accelerators, Enactus, PHINEO, European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA), Cambridge Social Ventures, Impact Hub, OECD, and Erste Bank.

The Coronavirus pandemic has revealed the need to create ventures that are creating values at the social and ecological level besides contributing to the economy. The support offered by the ‘Accelerating Investment Readiness’ (AIR) programme could empower innovators to join forces and build back a better ecosystem and tackle the devastating impact of the Covid-19.

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May 2020