INSEAD Entrepreneurship Forum on Impact Investing: Creating an Industry from Innovations, May 23, 2013

 
Last week, INSEAD welcomed alumni, students, entrepreneurs, and impact investing practitioners to the annual INSEAD Entrepreneurship Forum. This year, the forum focused on Impact Investing: Creating an Industry from Innovations.  Credit Suisse sponsored the event.

With about 200 participants, the day began with an insightful keynote speech by Stewart Paperin, President of the Soros Economic Development Fund.  Lively debates followed on whether you can achieve both profit and social impact - with INSEAD's Professor Filipe Santos and Uli Grabenwarter of the European Investment Fund. Additional panels and debates focused on the sector from the point of view of various actors: Funds, Intermediaries, Limited Partners, Entrepreneurs.

Conversation focused on the definition of impact investing, how it is interpreted by various investors as well as funds, how to find sustainable business models for capacity building intermediaries as well as funds at the early stage of investment, and how to re-brand the image of impact investing to unlock mainstream capital.

We also were lucky enough to have a number of INSEAD MBA and EMBA alumni present to pitch their socially and/or environmentally conscious business to the members of the audience.

The day was a great success, and many are now asking that we make it an annual event, potentially drilling down further into specific case studies to really draw out the complexities involved in the current models and structures.

A conference report and access to a video of the presentations will be available shortly on our web site.  To see some photos of the event, please take a look here. (Photos by www.danongabrielthe.com). For any questions, contact Christine Driscoll Goulay.

Last chance for early bird pricing - register now - INSEAD Entrepreneurship Forum May 23 on Impact Investing

Last Chance for Early Bird Pricing - Register Now!

INSEAD Entrepreneurship Forum (IEF) 2013
 

"Impact Investing: Creating an Industry from Innovations"

May 23, 2013 - INSEAD Fontainebleau campus

Early Bird Pricing Extended until Friday, April 26th - Register Now!
 

How is the impact investing sector developing, and where do we need to focus to create a true industry from the numerous innovations we are witnessing? 

See the UPDATED programme here.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Stewart Paperin, Executive Vice President of the Open Society Foundations and President of the Soros Economic Development Fund

NEW Confirmed Speakers!
Eric Archambeau, Quadia Impact Finance
Dawn Austwick, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
Julia Balandina Jaquier, JBJ Consult
Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, Bamboo Finance
Tahira Dosani, LeapFrog Investments
Marc Flammang, Bank Degroof
Uli Grabenwarter, European Investment Fund
Anna-Marie Harling, EVPA
Wolfgang Hafenmayer, LGT Venture Philanthropy
Nicolas Hazard, Le Comptoir de l’Innovation
Harry Hummels, SNS Impact Investing
Nikolaus Hutter, Toniic
Caroline Mason, Big Society Capital
Olivier Rousset, Credit Suisse
Alex van der Velden, Ownership Capital
Professor Filipe Santos, INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship
Professor Claudia Zeisberger, INSEAD Global Private Equity Initiative

Topics:
Funds: How do you manage fund viability and attract investors?
Intermediaries: Who is doing what? Where?
Entrepreneurs: How do you unlock this capital? Pitching session
Limited Partners: Why should you invest in this new sector and how to select the best opportunities?
Impact: How do you manage impact throughout the investment process?

Wanted:
Entrepreneurs who have received impact financing and entrepreneurs who would like to participate in Fire Pitches during the conference.
Contact us!


Also, please note that on Wednesday, May 22nd, the night before the conference, we will be hosting the very popular INSEAD-HUB Challenge Lab, an interactive workshop with social entrepreneurs and MBAs.  Find out more and register here.

And the INSEAD Private Equity Conference will take place the day after the IEF on Friday, May 24th. We are including a combined registration bundle where you can save money on tickets to attend both events.

Ticket pricing and registration information available here.  For more information, also please see our web site. 

The IEF is organized and sponsored by the Rudolf and Valeria Maag INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship and the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative.

For questions about the event, sponsorship opportunities, and to suggest speakers, please contact Christine Driscoll Goulay, Associate Director of the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative.

We hope to see you in May.

- The INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship Team -

Join us at the Finals of the I3C at the World Bank, April 26, 2013

Do you get excited about new and creative products that have a positive impact on the world?

Do you want to hear how institutional investors are thinking about impact investing?

Join us for the 2013 International Impact Investing Challenge, featuring:

“Impact Investing:  Opportunities and Hurdles to Moving Mainstream”, a panel with

·         Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

·         Kenneth Lay, Senior Managing Director, Rock Creek Group

·         David Chen, Co-founder and Principal, Equilibrium Capital Group

I3C Presentations by the Four Finalist Teams

Reception and Awards Presentation

Date:         Friday, April 26, 2013

Time:         2:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Location:   The World Bank

                 1818 H Street

                 NW, Washington D.C. 20433

At the 2013 International Impact Investing Challenge, teams of students from graduate programs around the world will present an investment strategy for an institutional investor that will simultaneously create sustainable impact and financial return.  This event is designed to push the boundaries of impact investing and stimulate thoughtful conversation about the future of the field.  The International Impact Investing Challenge offers an opportunity for you to mingle with peers who are interested in advancing the impact investing space while supporting young leaders who aspire to translate their energy and passion for the sector into careers.

 

Register at wwwi3c2013.eventbrite.com. 

For additional information, you can reach us at contact@impactinvestingchallenge.org.

Forget The Big Bucks...Today's Investor Also Wants A Different Kind Of Return On His Money

New post on impact investing in the Forbes Blog: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insead/2013/01/18/forget-the-big-bucks-todays-investor-also-wants-a-different-kind-of-return-on-his-money/

- By Christine Driscoll Goulay -
Associate Director, INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative
Google and Apple shares may have been the darlings of the beginning of the century, but another kind of investment is coming to the fore for those who want their money to make a difference. It’s called “Social Impact Investing”, and it can mean investing in anything from preventing prisoner recidivism in the context of a “social impact bond” in the UK to giving “patient capital” to an enterprise creating power from corn husks in rural India.
At the crossroads of finance and philanthropy, impact investing promises to deliver both financial and social return on investment (though rates of return and priority for finance versus social impact vary greatly across the sector depending on the type of instrument, type of investor, chosen benchmarks etc.). Frequently, impact investors accept that a concession needs to be made on the financial side to achieve the desired social and/or environmental impact. However, some want (and achieve) financial returns that are equal to comparable market rates  while still achieving the social/environmental impact they desire.
Credible Returns
Some people are sceptical: are these returns really being achieved?  Is the impact really being created? Is impact investing just a bubble?  With over 200 registered impact investing funds and players ranging from foundations such as the Rockefeller Foundation to banks such as JP Morgan, people are right to have these concerns. It seems that everyone and his grandmother are jumping into the game. But I am here to tell you that there are players who are very credible, who are achieving the returns and impact they seek, and that it is a wise move to become involved in impact investing.
Here are five reasons why, as an investor, you should take a second look at social impact investing:

1. If you are a philanthropist, then you have everything to gain.  You are already giving your money away without expecting any financial return at all and with perhaps limited guarantee that your donation is achieving the impact you desire. So why not try it?
2. If you are a financial investor, then you have very little to lose.  How have your financial investments been faring lately? Market returns are not what they used to be.   Are the returns sought by impact investors really that far below the reality of today’s markets? And for some impact investors, there is no compromise on the financial ROI at all, and you are achieving social impact as well.
3. The organisation – be it a non-profit or a social entrepreneur – which is on the receiving end of impact investing often gets other benefits besides just the money. For example, invaluable services such as training and capacity building, focusing on strategy and scaling opportunities, becoming more rigorous about thinking about and reporting impact. These are all wonderful ways to improve the organisation beyond just handing out money.
4. Impact investing may open new ways of thinking about problem solving in general for those investors who do get involved; therefore, the investor himself has a learning experience which he can apply to other parts of his life, be it professional or personal. Some of the innovations in the impact investing sector such as the often cited Social Impact Bond, social stock exchanges, and crowdsourcing models are inspiring on many levels. Borrowing from many disciplines, they break traditional boundaries of how to approach issues. These techniques can potentially serve as a basis of innovation in other areas of your life.
5. And most importantly if impact investing is carried out correctly, it can really change the face of how we approach and solve some of the world’s large scale problems. Lack of electricity, lack of access to water and sanitation, lack of access to education – the list could go on and on.  Social entrepreneurs on the ground are coming up with viable solutions to these problems which have not been properly addressed by government or the private sector thus far. Combining financial resources, capacity building, sustainability, and impact into one package is powerful.  The sector is still developing and evolving. Now is the time to get involved and help shape impact investing so that it is done right, so that it is not just a bubble, so that we are achieving our goals financially and socially.  You can make your mark. Don’t miss the boat.

INSEAD is engaged on several levels in the social impact investing sector: INSEAD is the European partner for the International Impact Investing Challenge (http://www.impactinvestingchallenge.org) in partnership with Kellogg. This is a graduate student competition to create new financial instruments for institutional investors to place capital in impact investing.  Also, INSEAD is holding the INSEAD Entrepreneurship Forum on May 23rd in Fontainebleau, France on impact investing. The theme will be on “Creating an Industry from Innovation in Impact Investing” and will be looking at how to move the field forward.  Finally, INSEAD is the knowledge partner for the Partnering for Global Impact conference (see http://www.partneringforglobalimpact.com) in Lugano July 10-11, 2013, a conference which creates a venue for social entrepreneurs and investors to meet and explore opportunities.
For more information, contact Christine Driscoll Goulay (Christine.driscoll@insead.edu).
Christine Driscoll Goulay is the Associate Director of the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative. She is a corporate lawyer by training, and has worked in the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors. She has been involved in social entrepreneurship for the past six years.

Partnering for Impact: Kellogg School of Management and INSEAD to Partner for 2013 International Impact Investing Challenge

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and INSEAD have announced a new partnership as they join together to co-host the 2013 International Impact Investing Challenge. Now in its third year, the challenge provides graduate students from around the world the opportunity to create high-performance, high-reward investment strategies that deliver social and environmental impact.

“The International Impact Investing Challenge invites students to think creatively about how to design investment vehicles that appeal to institutional investors, while simultaneously creating solutions for global social issues,” said Jamie Jones, director of social entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School. “While we’ve been very impressed with the caliber of financial creativity among the student teams who participated in the previous two years, we’re thrilled to have INSEAD as a European academic partner this year to attract a more global audience than ever before.”

We at INSEAD are very excited to be partnering with the Kellogg School for this year’s International Impact Investing Challenge. We have seen the field of impact investing grow over the years and become of rising importance to our students and the INSEAD finance community. We hope to contribute to Kellogg’s great work in creating and building this competition by increasing awareness and drawing in submissions from our European base, said Christine Driscoll Goulay, Associate Director of the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Teams are invited to submit a two-page prospectus by March 14, 2013. Ten finalist teams will present their proposals at a final event at the World Bank in Washington, D.C on April 26, 2013. The judging panel will be comprised of experienced officers and investors who currently manage family foundations, pension funds and university endowments. Top teams will receive financial support to implement their vision.

The International Impact Investing Challenge is sponsored by Equilibrium Capital Group; the McCall Foundation; Impact Assets; the Carol & Larry Levy Social Entrepreneurship Lab; World Bank Institute and the Calvert Foundation.

# # #

For more information:

To learn more about the International Impact Investing Challenge, visit www.impactinvestingchallenge.org. For more information about the Kellogg School of Management, visit www.kellogg.northwestern.edu. For more information about INSEAD, visit www.insead.edu.